Filipino police failed to interview freed hostages Officers did not seek details of gunman or bus, inquest told
Maggie Ng
Feb 16, 2011
Hostages released early by the gunman in last August’s Manila bus hijacking told an inquest police there never bothered to interview them about the gunman’s weapons, their seating arrangement and details of the bus in the hours leading to the deadly shoot-outs.
Instead, the police told one of them not to talk to the news media.
Li Tsui Fung-kwan, 66, her husband Li Yick-biu, 72, and nurse Tsang Yee-lai, 40, testified on the second day of the inquest into the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists held hostage by sacked police officer Rolando Mendoza on August 23.
The court also heard that the Philippine Tourism Authority did not allow released hostages to leave the country because their passports were still on the bus.
Li Tsui Fung-kwan said she spent six hours near a police post, but none of the officers asked her about the gunman or the situation on the bus. She was the first to be released – half an hour after Mendoza hijacked the bus at 10am. Her husband, who was released three hours later, said only Red Cross staff spoke to him.
Tsang testified that police officers asked her not to speak to anyone at the scene. Tsang, her two children Fu Chak-yin, 10, and Fu Chung-yin, four, and Jason Wong Ching-yat, 12, were released before lunchtime.
She said police officers only asked her whether anyone related to her was still on the bus, and how many children remained on board. Tsang lost her husband, Fu Cheuk-yan, 39, in the siege – the latter attempted to leave with his family but Mendoza was angered and refused. Tsang told her husband to sit down before taking the children.
Joyce Chan Siu-bing, assistant manager of customer services at Hong Thai Travel, told the court that Jason Wong’s relatives watched his release on television in Hong Kong. They called the agency about sending him back from Manila.
However, Chan was told that released hostages could not leave the country because their passports were still on the bus. Quoting a conversation she had with the boss of Direction Travel and Tours – a travel agency in Manila – she said: “The tourism authority wouldn’t let them go … because this is not a standalone incident. It [was] a matter between two countries.”
Parents of dead tour guide Masa Tse Ting-chunn, 31, Lee Mei-chun and Tse Hon-ming, cried as the court heard recordings of their son’s phone call to Hong Thai at 10.18am.
Tse first spoke to branch manager Mandy Wong Man-yee. In a calm voice, he said: “I’m [your] freelance colleague Masa … We’ve a huge problem. A Filipino soldier has taken hostage of our bus … parked at Rizal Park.” He later added: “The Filipino soldier has two guns in his hands … the bus cannot go anywhere.”
Wong asked: “Why did you let him onto the bus?” Tse replied: “We didn’t let him! He rushed onto it! We’re held hostage.” Wong then transferred the call to her supervisor, Chan, who misunderstood that there were two soldiers until Tse corrected her.
Tse said twice that the gunman was emotionally unstable.
Chan asked Tse for his phone number and said they would keep in touch. Tse said: “Yup. I’ll see if I can keep my phone. Others’ phones have already been confiscated.”
Holding back tears, Chan told the court that she later tried to call him but it was unanswered. She did not try again as she was worried that it would anger Mendoza.
The survivors also testified that Mendoza made them move to various seats on the bus, and that the television on board remained turned off when they were released.
During a break, coroner Michael Chan Pik-kiu summoned Philippine vice-consul Val Simon Roque before him. Roque was asked at the pre- inquest hearing two months ago to pass summonses on to the 116 Filipino witnesses.
The coroner said: “I’m very grateful for your help, but do you know if anyone is coming? It’s now the second day of the inquest and we still don’t know if anyone is coming.”
Roque replied that the justice departments from the two jurisdictions were communicating and that he had nothing more to add. The coroner asked him to return on Monday to update the court on the matter.
But Roque expressed his surprise at the coroner’s request: “For the record, I’m appearing out of courtesy … My role is to observe and monitor the proceedings. That is my goal. “[But] we do respect the jurisdiction of your worship.” He said he would consult his authority in Manila over the coroner’s request.
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