Wednesday, November 28, 2007 Last 2 escapees now back in Second Chance
THE two remaining escapees from the Cebu City Operations Second Chance (CCOSC) surrendered to authorities yesterday, ending the weeklong hunt for them.
Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo said that all seven escapees are now accounted for, seven days after they bolted from the facility in Barangay Kalunasan.
Six of the seven boys are at the CCOSC but will be transferred to a Cebu City-operated facility today, as ordered by Regional Trial Court Branch 24 Judge Olegario Sarmiento.
The two boys, both 17, surrendered to CCOSC personnel early yesterday morning, Carillo said.
Like the first escapee to surrender, four others complained about the alleged physical abuse they suffered while they were detained in the isolation cell.
The boys alleged that three Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) guards hit their heels repeatedly, using steel bars, while they were made to kneel.
That incident pushed them to escape, Carillo said.
“We already talked to the boys and they all complained about the abuse and they will be issuing affidavits against their alleged abusers,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
The affidavits will be used as evidence in the child abuse complaint they will file against the BJMP personnel.
The children were previously charged with theft, robbery and violation of the election gun ban.
They escaped from the CCOSC last Nov. 19 allegedly because they could no longer stand the abuse.
The escapees’ complaints and BJMP’s failure to report the incident promptly resulted in the relief of the warden and the cancellation of the guards’ P1,000 monthly incentive from City Hall. (LCR)
