Evidence lost from siege bus, inquest hears
Mar 02, 2011
Hong Kong experts who collected evidence from Manila a week after eight Hongkongers died in last August’s bus siege testified at the inquest yesterday that items on the bus had been moved or were missing.
The hearing was told that the handcuffs the gunman used to secure the tour guide near the door were not found on the bus, and that a headrest cover was missing
Bobbie Cheung Kwok-keung, a senior government chemist, and Superintendent Raymond Chan Siu-kei, a ballistics expert, were giving evidence on the 12th day of the hearing. On August 23, a group of 21 Hongkongers were held hostage by sacked police officer Rolando Mendoza. Eight were killed.
Cheung, who first examined the bus on August 30, told the court that he learned from earlier news footage that slain tour guide Masa Tse Ting-chunn had been handcuffed before the shootings took place. He could not find the handcuffs.
Also, there were 19 headrest covers missing from seats, but only 18 were found elsewhere on the bus.
Cheung learned before arriving in Manila that Mendoza was shot at the door of the bus. However, a fragment of glass he collected near the door did not carry Mendoza’s DNA, but that of a hostage sitting in the fourth row. Survivor Lee Ying-chuen testified earlier that hostage Fu Cheuk-yan was sitting in the fourth row. Cheung also testified earlier that Fu’s blood stained a piece of tissue paper tucked inside the seat pocket in that row. “I accept that [the piece of glass] might not have been there just after the incident,” Cheung said.
Chan said that he found the rear panel of glass wedged between a row of seats. “There was damage on the bus that clearly did not result from gunshots,” he said.
Chan added that some panels of glass were missing, while others were cracked. The court heard earlier that police attempted to enter the bus by breaking the windows.
Cheung, who selected 22 bloodstain patterns on the bus for analysis, did not find any blood that contained the gunman’s DNA. Two patterns revealed similar shoe prints. Cheung said he did not conduct further analysis as he could not obtain the shoe prints of the Filipino investigators who boarded the bus before August 30, the court heard.
Bloodstain patterns near the door, which contained tour guide Tse’s DNA, suggested that bullets had hit his main arteries, Cheung said.
A bloodstain found under the overhead luggage rack, which contained DNA of injured hostage Jason Leung Song-xue, was lighter in colour and had hair in it. This pattern was consistent with that of a person shot in the head, Cheung said.
On September 16, Cheung retrieved a carpet that was propped up against the windscreen of the bus. However, it was not in the same place as shown in a photograph taken on the day the hostages were taken, the court heard. Two bullet holes in the carpet, which contained Tse’s DNA, matched those in the windscreen, Cheung said. A third bullet hole appeared to have resulted from shootings from the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, the Philippine consulate acknowledged concerns raised by six survivors and Tse’s brother Tse Chi-kin, who publicly stated disappointment that none of the Filipino witnesses called to testify had confirmed attendance. The statement was passed to the consulate by the Chief Executive’s Office. A consulate spokesman said it would be transmitted immediately to the relevant authorities in Manila.
The inquest continues today before Coroner Michael Chan Pik-kiu.
Source: http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=cb4683d0b517e210VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=Hong+Kong&s=News
SCMP
Maggie Ng
With new golf courses springing up in and around Clark Philippines and an ever-increasing patronage by tourists from neighboring South Korea, Clark Freeport is short on hotel accommodation.
Even with the addition of 27 holes in 2009 and 2010, there is an acute shortage golf tee times for at least 5-6 months each year. Local players compete with frustrated (golf) tourists from Korea and China for tee times. Unfortunately Clark Philippines doesnβt have the luxury of vast tracts of land suitable for this type of development.
Mimosa offers 36 holes of championship golf, visitors can pay and play, busy during the weekends but not that difficult to get on or join up with a group to form a 4-ball. The new FAKCC offers 27 holes of world-class golf.
This web site contains articles and information that will be helpful to visitors, residents and tourists traveling out of town from Manila on a short getaway to Subic, Angeles City, Pampanga and Clark Philippines. There are several web sites that contain information that might also be pertinent to what is happening in North Luzon.
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For assistance with lodgings, accommodations, hotels and resorts near Manila in Subic, Pampanga, Angels City and Clark Philippines log on to http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
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