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Saturday, November 17, 2007
Mariannet's father welcomes rape probe
By Nelson C. Bagaforo and Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY –- Police have started a full-blown criminal investigation on the death of 12-year-old Mariannet Amper, who reportedly committed suicide on November 2 because of poverty, after an autopsy result on her cadaver showed she could have been raped.
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Mariannet's father Isabelo welcomed an investigation into the possibility that his daughter was raped.
Isabelo is hoping that the "criminal investigation" ordered by Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte would help bring justice for his daughter.
He said that as of Friday morning, policemen carted away Mariannet's belongings for inspection and analysis.
The items included a diary where investigators claimed Mariannet lamented her family's poverty, added Isabelo.
Medical examiner Dr. Tomas Dimaandal said the victim has hymenal lacerations in her sex organ, which could mean that an object entered her vagina.
Mayor Duterte said such object could be a piece of wood or a plastic.
But he was quick to add it is almost impossible for a young girl to be pushing objects into her vagina, thus the possibility that Mariannet was raped is the only logical explanation for the lacerations on her genitals.
Duterte ordered the police to invite the victim's father as well as all the other relatives of Mariannet who could shed light on the matter.
"If that is really the autopsy result, I am willing to cooperate with the investigation, just so my daughter can get justice," Isabelo said.
The mayor said the autopsy result greatly dispelled earlier claims that Mariannet committed suicide because of extreme poverty.
Duterte had berated those who jumped into conclusion that Mariannet was a victim of poverty even though the police investigation was not yet over. He also blamed the media for "romanticizing" the story.
The autopsy however failed to determine whether Mariannet indeed committed suicide or was murdered.
Talomo police chief Matthew Baccay said they are still investigating the matter.
Baccay returned to Amper's residence in Ma-a Thursday evening and invited the victim's father for questioning.
Mariannet's father readily denied raping his daughter. He said if indeed his daughter was raped it could be by another person and that he also wanted to know who was responsible.
The autopsy also raised the possibility that Mariannet may have either hanged herself partly because of the rape, or that she may even have been dragged and hanged while she was asleep.
Earlier reports showed that before her death, Mariannet told her friends that she has a "big problem" that if revealed would result in the break-up of her family.
Isabelo said he was surprised over the report that a page in Mariannet's diary had been ripped off.
The page supposedly contained her fears that her parents would separate.
Isabelo said he did not know who could have raped his daughter because no "outsider" stayed in the house.
He added that he did not immediately report the death to the police because he was not aware of the standard operating procedures.
The Ampers reported Mariannet's death on November 6, four days after the girl supposedly hanged herself on November 2.
Isabelo argued that he brought Mariannet to a local hospital for treatment, and learned he had to report the matter to the police only when he was getting her death certificate.
"I did not know I had to report it to the police. I thought the hospital would have taken care of everything. When I tried to get a death certificate that was when I was told I had to report the death to the police," Isabelo was quoted as saying. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (November 17, 2007 issue)
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