‘Fake’ kidnapper to face robbery, extortion raps

A 32-YEAR-OLD man was arrested by operatives of the Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) after claiming on social media that he kidnapped an 18-year-old girl who went missing for four days.

Suspect Jade Sabroso, who hails from Maco town in Davao de Oro (formerly Compostela Valley Province), begged the girl and her parents for forgiveness. He said he was merely taking advantage of their situation to earn money.

Police are set to file robbery and extortion charges against him.

Sabroso was about to claim the “ransom” money from a money remittance center in Tagum City, Davao del Norte when he was nabbed by operatives of the PNP-AKG in Davao City.

Emil (not his real name), a security agency head from Sogod, Cebu, posted on Facebook that his daughter Marie (not her real name) went missing last Dec. 16.

He said Marie had told him and his wife, who was at that time admitted in a public hospital in Cebu City, that she would visit her friends in Lapu-Lapu City.

After a few hours, Emil became worried when Maria had not contacted them. When it came time for his wife to be discharged from the hospital, Emil said his daughter did not show up.

Emil decided to post Marie’s disappearance on Facebook. He also reported his daughter missing at the Sogod Police Station.

When Sabroso chanced upon Emil’s Facebook post, he contacted Emil and demanded P50,000 for her release. He also told Emil that he would kill the girl and harvest her internal organs if he did not send the money.

Emil sent Sabroso P5,000 out of fear for his daughter’s life and also to trace Sabroso’s location.

Emil then coordinated with the PNP-AKG 7 in Cebu and together they found Sabroso in Mindanao.

The PNP-AKG 7 contacted its counterpart in Davao City to arrest the suspect.

After he was taken into custody, Sabroso sought Emil’s forgiveness, saying extreme poverty drove him to commit the crime. He said his earnings as a farmer were not enough. He said he even sold one of his kidneys a few years ago.

Emil said he understood Sabroso’s situation and forgave him, but he would still file charges against the latter.

As for Marie, she showed up five days after she went missing. She told her distraught parents she couldn’t contact them because her phone’s battery went dead and there was no power where she was. (AYB, JKV)