Taiwanese man says abductors also robbed him

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Two policemen — one of them a chief inspector (police major) and two members of Task Force Jericho who allegedly abducted a Taiwanese national — are now facing a possible double whammy.

Their victim, Wang Teng Fa, of San Nicolas 2, Magalang town this province, claimed yesterday that the same group robbed him of more than P1.5 million in cash and valuables in his residence last month.

Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Mendoza Jr., Pampanga police director, said Wang positively identified one of his alleged kidnappers, civilian enforcement officer 2 Alvin Bautista Nucum, as one of those who robbed him last July 27.

Nucum has been charged with kidnapping-for-ransom along with Chief Inspector Orlando Melchor, PO2 Darius Salonga and Task Force Jericho civilian asset Kenneth Sia.

Also included in the charges are a certain Ernesto Causidez and Linchen Hao.

The group allegedly abducted Wang from his farm in Barangay Sta. Maria, Magalang town at about 8 a.m. last Tuesday and contacted his wife to deliver a ransom of P300,000 at the SM City Pampanga mall here on the same day.

The victim’s wife, Chua Zu Lin, agreed to meet the caller but reported her husband’s kidnapping to the Magalang police before proceeding to the pay-off venue.

Police then set up a sting operation to collar the suspects. Mendoza said lawmen were able to immediately surround Nucor and Sia upon receiving the ransom.

However, five other suspects were able to escape with some P210,000. Police recovered the remaining P90,000.

Melchor and Salonga, who were waiting with the victim at the parking lot, allegedly panicked after sensing that their cohorts had been arrested inside the mall, Mendoza said.

The two policemen drove with their victim all the way to the Department of the Interior and Local Government office in Quezon City where they declared that Wang was arrested for being an illegal alien.

Melchor and Salonga even claimed that they had coordinated their operation with Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol, Central Luzon police director.

"Task Force Jericho is supposed to deal with illegal gambling and not immigration laws, and their purported arrest of an illegal alien should have been coordinated with the Bureau of Immigration," Mendoza said in an earlier interview.

Both Melchor and Salonga were later arrested.

Chief Superintendent Manuel Cabigon, Task Force Jericho chief, agreed that the two policemen operated outside their mandate.

Cabigon said he would ask Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina to terminate Melchor and Salonga from the unit at the soonest possible time.

Summary dismissal proceedings against the two police officers and two civilian agents will be also put into motion, Cabigon said.