A Chinese national changed his earlier statement, claiming that on July 10, it was not in the Carbon Public Market, where he had been kidnapped, but rather near the Compania Maritima building.
However, when the personnel at the Waterfront Police Station requested Joel Montero Co, 49, to indicate the location where he was allegedly abducted by the four unknown males, the victim led them to a mall in the North Reclamation Area in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
"Ingun sa victim nga gi abduct daw sila sa Maritima at around 7 a.m. so gi back track namo ang CCTV wala man ni nakita nga commotion or katong van na nakuha sa Kampo 4, so gi back track namo from 6am to 12NN wala mi nakuha nga footage sa van nya," according to Police Major Efren Diaz, chief of Waterfront Police Station.
(The victim claimed they were abducted in Maritima at around 7 a.m., so we followed the CCTV footage. However, we didn't see any commotion or the van that was found in Kampo 4, so we returned to our tracking strategy from 6 a.m. until 12 noon. We didn't find any footage of his van).
In order to determine whether the victim was telling the truth, Chief Police Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) instructed his men to expand their investigation.
According to Dalogdog, if it is established that the victim made up stories, he may be charged with perjury.
Co had earlier claimed that he and his two helpers were loading goods that they bought in Carbon Public Market onto his white van last July 10 at 9:20 a.m. when four unidentified persons appeared and ordered them to get inside the vehicle.
The criminals then commandeered to van towards Campo 4 in Talisay City, where they stole Co's P100,000 in cash, a cell phone, and an ATM card.
They also tied the victims' hands and feet with duct tape and blindfolded them before dumping them in Campo 4.
The victims were later discovered by the barangay tanods, and Co's car was later found abandoned a few meters from the scene of the crime.
Police Major EraƱo Regidor, the chief of Mabolo Police Station, said that based on the statements of habal-habal drivers, security guards and ambulant vendors, there was no commotion near the mall, where the alleged kidnapping took place, from morning until evening, and if there had been, it would have been obvious given its proximity to the police station.
Co identified the suspect only as Mark, but did not provide his surname.
The police will conduct a background investigation on Co to see if he is not involved in any illegal activity.
According to a reliable source who works as a police investigator in Cebu City, the two workers of Co made a sworn statement that the claim that they were kidnapped and robbed by four men was untrue. (AYB, TPT)