PNP chief says no warrant needed to get David Lim Jr.

Members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the Cebu City Police Office raids the home of David Lim Jr., the alleged road rage shooter, on Sunday night, March 19, 2017. (Photo from Facebook page of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña)

CEBU CITY—No warrant is needed to capture road rage suspect David Lim Jr., scion of one of the city’s wealthiest families, because police are on a “hot pursuit operation,” the chief of the Philippine National Police said.

PNP Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said that if a suspect was the subject of hot pursuit operations, no warrant was needed.

Senior Supt. Joel Doria, city police chief, said Lim should just surrender if he did not want to be hurt in a gunfight with policemen if he tried to fight it out.

Lim had been identified as the man who shot and wounded a nurse during a traffic altercation on F. Sotto Street in the village of Kamputhaw here on early Sunday.

Doria also warned Lim that police would not hesitate to engage him in a gunfight if the suspect would open fire at arresting policemen.

‘We’ll shoot first’

“He better not fight back because our police would not allow him to shoot first,” Doria said.

Police are hunting down Lim, who was caught on video shooting Ephraim Montalbo Nunal following an argument after Lim stopped his Mercedes Benz in the middle of the two-lane F. Sotto Street around 3 a.m. on Sunday.

A rumor circulated here that Lim had already fled the country on Sunday afternoon after the video went viral on social media after it was uploaded on Facebook.

But Doria said police checked with the Bureau of Immigration and the Mactan Cebu International Airport and were told there was no record of a David Lim Jr. leaving Cebu.

On his Facebook page, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said his friends at the Bureau of Immigration had confirmed that Lim’s passport had not been used in the past 48 hours.

He said Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go had acted on his request for help and put Lim on a hold departure order list.

“Thanks to the very quick response of Bong Go, a hold departure order is now in effect,” the mayor wrote.

For Lim’s safety

“For his own safety, I highly encourage Mr. Lim to give up,” the mayor said.

“Unless he wants to spend the rest of his life hiding in Sulu, he has no future here. If he is in Cebu, we will find him,” Osmeña said.

He also sought the help of netizens to provide him information on where to find Tamae Takahashi, a Filipino-Japanese girlfriend of Lim who was with him during the shooting.

On Sunday night, Osmeña led a raid on the house and condominium unit of Lim in Maria Luisa Subdivision and in Windland Towers after the victim identified Lim as the one who shot him early Sunday.

The raids were done without a warrant but Osmeña said he was taking full responsibility.

On his Facebook page, the mayor said he had applied for an arrest warrant but a judge refused to grant him one.

“The judge has refused to issue me a warrant of arrest,” Osmeña wrote.

“I have ordered SWAT to execute the raid on David Lim’s house. I accept all legal responsibility,” the mayor added.

He also informed Mr. Duterte of his actions through a text message he sent to Go, which he also posted on his Facebook page.

“Hi Bong, fyi lang (for your information), tonight I personally raided the house of David Lim, brother to Peter. His son was captured on video this morning shooting a nurse. The judge in Cebu refused to issue a warrant of arrest and the police refused to move with no warrant until I threatened to perform the raid by myself,” he wrote.

“Please tell the President that I need help getting an arrest warrant ASAP so a hold departure order can be placed. This is beyond me [already]. Need help,” he added. –