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'Friendly fire' suspected in Philippines siege
Topic Started: Sep 11 2010, 02:15 AM (676 Views)
arvcab
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11240812


'Friendly fire' suspected in Philippines siege

For the investigation Justice Secretary Leila de Lima visited the bus in which the tourists died
Investigators in the Philippines say police may have accidentally shot some of the hostages who were killed during a Manila bus hijacking last month.

Eight tourists from Hong Kong were shot dead during a chaotic rescue attempt in which the hijacker was also killed.

The head of the inquiry said there was a strong possibility that at least some of the hostages may have been killed by "friendly fire".

The conclusions of the official inquiry are expected in a matter of days.

China has called for a fair and comprehensive report.




Forensic evidence clash
Disgraced ex-policeman Rolando Mendoza, 55, hijacked a bus on 23 August, armed with an assault rifle, in an attempt to get back the job he lost in 2009 for extortion and threat-making.

In all, 20 Hong Kong tourists and two guides were taken hostage, along with three Filipinos - a driver, a guide and a photographer.

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Ten things the Manila police did wrong
Nine people were released in early negotiations, but 15 were kept aboard the curtained bus for hours as the hostage drama was played out before live television cameras and broadcast around the world.

Police say the eight tourists who lost their lives were shot by the hijacker during the rescue operation.

However, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Thursday that "there is a big possibility that there [was] friendly fire".

Ms de Lima also said the forensic reports on some of the victims did not match the account of the driver of the bus, who told investigators the gunman shot the tourists at close range.

The government inquiry has heard hours of witness testimony, examined forensic evidence and even staged a re-creation of the police assault in its efforts to establish the facts of the operation.

Survivors and experts have criticised the Manila police for being indecisive and slow in their handling of the crisis.
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spearhead
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I think that driver should also be charged for misinforming the media and the cops, and everybody when he escaped....! Pangitingiti din sya sa mga tV habang renerenactment yung assault. :crazy:
"Men of War must learn the art of numbers or he will not know how to array his troops." - Plato

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Fmr TOPP Awardee 82'PNP
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I presumed that the driver had executed a sworn statement similar to the details he gave to the inquiry. He can be prosecuted for perjury if it turns out to be false or long way out from the truth. There exist a suspicion that he had links with the hostage taker which was quite supported by the fact that he allegedly escaped unscathed from the bus in full view of Mendoza.
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"GUILTY CONSCIENCE NEEDS NO ACCUSER"
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saver111
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Hostage survivors say Mendoza shot at them at close range
abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 09/13/2010 4:01 PM | Updated as of 09/13/2010 4:05 PM
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MANILA, Philippines - Depositions of some of the survivors in the August 23 hostage crisis show that the hostage-taker shot at them at close range, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Monday.

De Lima, head of a 5-man official committee investigating the crisis, said a joint Department of Justice-National Bureau of Investigation team got depositions from 5 of the survivors in the hostage incident. The team was sent to Hong Kong last week to get depositions, autopsy reports and other evidence that could be used in the investigation of the Quirino Grandstand hostage crisis.

De Lima said depositions of 3 of the survivors who stayed until the end of the hostage crisis corroborate testimony of bus driver Alberto Lubang that the hostage-taker, Rolando Mendoza, shot the victims at close range.

De Lima said the absence of tattooing on the victims' wounds, based on the autopsy reports, was inconclusive. "Even if tattooing was not noted, this does not mean that the victims were not shot at close range," she said.

She said the autopsy reports will be subjected to further analysis by police, NBI and private practitioners, including forensic expert Dr. Raquel Fortun.

De Lima said the team also got a correlation report for the ballistics examination done on the hijacked bus. Local teams will do further analysis of the ballistics report and submit it for the IIRC report.

The DOJ-NBI team was also able to retrieve 3 cellular phones that were mistakenly handed over to Hong Kong investigators during the investigation.

The hostage crisis saw a dismissed police officer, Mendoza, hijack a bus full of tourists in a bid to be reinstated in the service. Mendoza and 8 of his hostages were killed more than 11 hours after the crisis started.

The IIRC is set to submit the result of its investigation to President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday. De Lima said the report will include recommendations on the filing of civil and administrative charges on police and government officials deemed responsible for the hostage tragedy in Rizal Park.

She did not rule out that the report will recommend charges against news organizations.

Broadcast media organizations have been heavily criticized for airing live the August 23 hostage-taking that killed the hostage-taker and 8 tourists. Investigation has shown that the hostage-taker was able to watch the live news broadcasts through a television inside the hijacked bus.

An IIRC member also said radio station RMN-DXL violated Broadcast Code when its anchors interviewed Mendoza live on-air during the crisis, barring police negotiators from contacting the hostage-taker.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/13/10...hem-close-range
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Justice for Daniel Lorenz Jacinto

HELP END PIRACY NOW!:
http://www.itfseafarers.org/petition.cfm
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