|
BALANGA City, Bataan: Police arrested Monday night a mother
allegedly involved in the kidnapping of her own child, along with
two others, and recovered P450,000 out of the P500,000 ransom money
paid by the suspect’s mother-in-law.
The police rescued the child and her yaya in
Palihan, Hermosa, Bataan Monday at 10 p.m. The money was recovered
in the house of the alleged gang leader in Lubao, Pampanga.
Senior Supt. Manuel Gaerlan, Bataan police
director, returned the recovered cash to Josephine Vitug,
grandmother of kidnap victim Michaela Vitug, two years and nine
months old and daughter of suspect Lexi Lei Ventura Vitug, 22, of
Munting Batangas, Balanga City.
Also nabbed were suspected gang leader Allan
Lopez, 35, residing in Lubao, Pampanga and Albert Tamayo, 31, also
of Lubao.
“Tinakot lang ako ni Allan [Lopez] kaya ko
nagawa ito sa aking anak at biyenan [Allan scared me, which is the
reason I agreed to do this to my daughter and mother-in-law],”
Lexi Lei told investigators at the Bataan provincial police office.
Josephine Vitug, a merchant, said her
daughter-in-law came to her house in the afternoon of May 22,
Thursday, and inquired if the child was with her. “Bandang alas-nuwebe
ng gabi, tumanggap ako ng text message na ‘hawak namin ang apo mo
at yaya kaya makipagtulungan ka sa amin at huwag magsusumbong sa
pulis’ [It was about 9 p.m. when I received a text message saying
that my granddaughter and her yaya were with them, and that I should
cooperate and not report the matter to the police],” she said.
The yaya referred to is Mary Celine Ventura, a
niece of the child’s mother.
The merchant said the texter first demanded P1
million but later agreed to reduce the ransom demand to P500,000,
“pero kapalit ng bata ang nanay na maiiwan sa amin [in exchange
for the money, we will release the child but the mother will remain
with us].”
The grandmother said she received many text
messages the next two days telling her that the child was sick and
weak, which convinced her to give the suspects the ransom they
wanted.
She said she gave P500,000 to her
daughter-in-law and Allan, who was always in their house during the
time the child was missing.
The merchant sought the assistance of the police
that led to the rescue of the child and her yaya and the recovery of
the ransom money.
-- Ernie B. Esconde
|
