Just weeks after a group of Quezon City policemen were charged with kidnapping two men on Edsa and stealing P2 million in cash, eight Manila policemen wound up in the same situation, this time for extorting money from a Pakistani businessman.
Charged with robbery-extortion and graft and corruption were Senior Insp. Rommel Geneblazo, head of the Manila Police District’s (MPD) Anti-Carnapping (Ancar), and his men Senior Police Officers 1 Gerrardo Rivera, Michael Dingding, Jay Perturbos, Jonathan Moreno, Rodel Maligon and Police Officers 2 Renato Lachinang and Marvin dela Cruz.
MPD General Assignment and Investigation Section head Chief Insp. Artemio Riparip said the case was filed in the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday based on the complaint of Kamran Khan Dawood.
None of the policemen has surfaced after MPD director Chief Supt. Rolando Asuncion ordered their relief and arrest. Chief Insp. Francisco Vargas, chief of the Sampaloc police station, was named officer in charge of the MPD Ancar.
Dawood, a Persian carpet dealer from Pakistan who has been living in the Philippines for 24 years, said that he and his friends were meeting at a hotel in Manila at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday when they were approached by the policemen who told them that the four cars they were using were in the unit’s list of stolen vehicles. These were three Toyota Camrys and a Mazda 323. The policemen invited them to the MPD’s Ancar section to verify the vehicles’ records, where Dawood claimed the policemen intimidated them and threatened they will face car theft charges if they do not cooperate. The policemen demanded P300,000 to settle the case and set them free. Dawood balked at the demands but the Chinese dealer, identified as Hua Long Wu, yielded and at about 2:30 a.m., paid P100,000 in cash to them after haggling.
The policemen only freed the victims, together with their cars, at around 8 a.m. on Friday, except for a Camry (XPN 274), that the suspects said were still for verification.
On Monday, Dawood filed graft and extortion charges after seeking help from his friend, a police officer stationed at Camp Crame, who accompanied him to GAIS to report the incident.
With report by Djan Arell G. Magbanua, Nathaniel R. Melican
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
