2 rescued from murder attempt

POLICE personnel of the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) have rescued two would-be victims of summary execution in a west coast village in Zamboanga City, a police official said Saturday.

Police Station 9 Chief Edilberto Alvarez identified the rescued victims as Ronald Tomy, 30, and Khomieni Laja, 32, residents of Tetuan and Guiwan villages, respectively.

The policemen rescued the victims around 2:30 a.m. Friday along the highway in the village of Cawit, according to Alvarez.

ZCPO identified the arrested suspects as Fidal Hawari, 29, Sanimar Maluddin, 32, Mus Haris, 37, Mihajo Arabani, 45, Angelica Bolante, 18, and Rachel Herman, 34.

Confiscated from the suspects’ possession were an Uzi machine pistol, an AK-47 rifle, a caliber .40 pistol, and an ice pick, Alvarez said.

Investigation showed the policemen were conducting a mobile checkpoint along the highway when they intercepted a vehicle and saw two people on board handcuffed and blindfolded.

The suspects told the policemen that the two blindfolded persons are the new recruits of a fraternity, Alvarez said. However, one of the policemen manning the checkpoints recognized Laja.

Laja confided to the police that he was the target of the summary execution plot and his friend, Tomy, was just caught in the middle of a dispute between him and the suspects.

Laja said he and the suspects know each other, and that Tomy just accompanied him when he was instructed through a phone call last Thursday afternoon to go to the suspects’ house in Suterville, San Jose Gusu village, west of this city.

Laja added that they were terrified when the suspects started mauling them and then handcuffed and blindfolded them when they arrived at the suspects’ house.

At Friday dawn, they were dragged to the pick-up vehicle, which proceeded towards this city’s west coast, where they were rescued by the police.

Alvarez disclosed that jealousy was the reason why the suspects wanted to kill Laja.

The suspects were taken to the City Prosecutor’s Office for inquest proceeding on Saturday.