‘Investigator’ Leila: Was Korean’s slay an ‘inside job’?

Choi Kyung Jin, the widow of Korean National Ick Jee Joo, and their househelp
Marissa Morquicho at the Senate Hearing on Tokhang for Ransom. INQUIRER PHOTO/ ALEXIS CORPUZ

Is it just too much of a “coincidence” that the house help of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo was hired just a day before he was abducted and killed last October 18?

Senator Leila de Lima raised this question on Thursday during a hearing of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs investigating the kidnap-slay of the Korean trader.

Jee was taken from his house in Angeles City, Pampanga along with his house help, Marisa Morquicho, but she was later freed while the businessman was strangled to death allegedly by the principal accused, SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel.

READ: Maid identifies cop who abducted her and Korean boss

“Mayroon lang talagang bumabagabag sa utak ko kanina po, ‘yung tungkol ho kay Ms. Marisa…kasi nga sinabi n’ya, na she was hired by the victim and his wife the day before the actual incident. Sabi nga ho ni Mr. Chair, kailangan maging madumi rin ang utak natin, nagiimbestiga tayo ngayon e so ang utak ng imbestigador dapat madumi talaga,” De Lima, former justice secretary, said.

(Something’s been eating me about Ms. Marisa, because as she said, she was hired by the victim and his wife the day before the actual incident. As Mr. Chair said, we have to have a malicious thinking; we are conducting an investigation, and investigator’s line of thinking is malicious.)

“Is it too much of a coincidence? Ano bang background n’ya? Paano n’yo ho na-hire si Ms. Marisa at sino po ang nag recommend? As I said, hindi ako sigurado . I’m just speaking aloud, baka naman inside job?” she asked.

(Is it too much of a coincidence? What is her background? How was Ms. Marisa hired and who recommended her? As I said, I’m not very sure. I’m just speaking aloud, but could there have been an inside job?)

Speaking through an interpreter, Jee’s wife, Choi Kyung-jin, said Morquicho was introduced to them by a close Korean friend and it was confirmed by the house help.

“Opo Ma’am ni-refer lang ako ng kabigan n’ya po (Yes, Ma’am, I was just referred to her by her friend),” Morquicho said but does not also know the name of the person who recommended her to the couple.

“Hindi ko po alam ‘yung name n’ya Ma’am e kasi friend po ‘yun ng dati kong amo (Ma’am, I don’t know her name as she was just the friend of my former employer),” she said.

Before working for Jee’s family, Morquicho said she worked for another Korean employer in Clark, Pampanga for a year. IDL/rga