|
Friday, August 04, 2006
Fingerprinting test to identify church robbers
By Roberto L. Bacasong
ALL acolytes of the San Antonio Abad Parish Church in Barangay Taculing, Bacolod City, will go through a finger print test on Saturday at the Bacolod City Police Office Crime Laboratory, Police Station 6 Chief Jonathan Lorilla said.
Lorilla said parish priest Fr. Humberto Tumbos has agreed to have his acolytes undergo the test.
Aside from the acolytes, other church personnel will also be subjected for investigation, Lorilla said.
This after the experts at BCPO crime laboratory has found finger print latents on the life-sized religious icons, which were beheaded by still unidentified suspect or suspects Monday evening.
Lorilla said their investigation is concentrated on an inside job angle, hinting at the previous theft incident involving a son of a parish worker.
For his part, Bacolod City Police Director Pedro Merced said he appointed the the Intelligence and Investigation Branch to help Police Station 6 with the case.
Merced also appealed to all antique collectors to validate first at the police stations if they receive reports of religious icons, which are for sale.
He also urged antique shop owners in the city to stop accepting religious relics from any suspected individuals.
As of press time, the Police still failed to recover the missing heads of St. Joseph and St. Mary, a chalice and a paten.
The culprit also undressed the image of Dolorosa (Mother of Sorrow).
The perpetrator destroyed the door's padlock at the back of the Sacristy, which leads to the church's hallway.
Tumbos earlier said that the heads of the icons were not made of ivory, which commands a higher price among collectors, but of hard wood. The chalice, he added, is only gold plated.
(August 4, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
|
