To catch a killer
CONGRATULATIONS are in order for Central Luzon police director Brigadier General Jean Fajardo and her men for proving that through patient sleuthing and help from the community and their foreign counterparts, they can capture a killer here or abroad.
This after the Police Regional Office 3 arrested two suspects in the 2018 murder of Dominic Sytin, a multi-millionaire businessman in Subic Bay. Ironically, the suspected ‘brains’ behind the killing of Sytin has turned out to be his brother in what could be another classic modern-day case of ‘Cain Versus Abel.’
The PRO3 director-a friend way back when she was still a young captain going after top drug lords during her stint at the now-defunct PNP Narcotics Command-told me that the slain businessman’s brother Dennis Lim Syten was arrested in Petaling Jaya in Selangor, Malaysia.
Also the concurrent PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Fajardo said the accused who carries a P10 million bounty on his head has been described as the alleged mastermind behind the 2018 murder of his brother who was the president and founder of United Auctioneers, Inc. when shot dead.
The accused was arrested in a joint operation conducted by the Office of the Police Attaché (OPA) in Malaysia, the Special Branch of the Royal Malaysian Police and the IPD Petaling Jaya RMP around 5:42 p.m. last March 22 at the Cobra Rugby Club, the official reported to PNP chief, General Rommel Marbil.
The second suspect identified as Edrian Rementilla alias ‘Ryan Rementilla/Oliver Fuentes,’ the subject of a P4 million reward, was tracked down in his hideout in Purok 16, Buhanginan Hills in Barangay Pala-o, Iligan City around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday last week, said the PRO3 director.
The murder, which took place on November 28, 2018 in front of a hotel in Subic Bay Freeport, was a high-profile case that shook the business community. Court records showed that gunman Edgardo Luib, who was arrested and convicted, confessed that Alan Dennis Lim Sytin orchestrated the killing. On the other hand, Rementilla was tagged as a ‘middleman’ in the hit job.
The PRO3 sought the assistance of the Office of the Police Attaché in Malaysia which coordinated closely with the Royal Malaysia Police to arrest the suspect. Following intensive intelligence and surveillance operations, authorities successfully tracked and captured Sytin.
Brig. Gen. Fajardo said efforts are now underway to facilitate Sytin’s immediate repatriation to the Philippines, where he will face legal proceedings. “This operation highlights the power of international cooperation in bringing fugitives to justice. It sends a strong message that no one can escape accountability, no matter where they flee,” the official said.
She also urged the public to remain vigilant and report any information on wanted persons through their hotline or official social media pages. Brig. Gen. Fajardo described Rementilla as ‘a key accomplice’ of the suspects in the killing of Sytin, the founder and chief executive officer of UAI, , an auctioneer of used trucks and heavy equipment in Subic who also owned the ACEA Subic Bay Resort.
The victim was shot dead in front of the Lighthouse Hotel inside the Subic Bay Freeport in Olongapo City on November 28, 2018. Rementilla was a former employee of Sytin, the PRO3 learned.
Brig. Gen. Fajardo said with the assistance of the Police Regional Office 10 and the Iligan City Police Office, all under Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, members of the PRO3 Regional Special Operations Unit arrested the accused on the strength of a non-bailable warrant of arrest for murder issued by the Manila City Regional Trial Court Branch 7.
“Rementilla had been constantly changing locations to avoid capture, but persistent intelligence efforts and coordination among law enforcement agencies finally led to his arrest,” Brig. Gen. Fajardo told me.
She also lauded the successful operation, emphasizing that justice will always catch up with those who attempt to escape it. “You can run, but you can never truly hide.
These arrests prove that no matter how long it takes, justice will always prevail. Let this be a strong message to all criminals—there is no escape. The law will find you, no matter where you hide,” the official said.
The suspect was transported to the PRO3 headquarters in Camp Olivas in Pampanga for the return of his warrant to the court of origin.
In November 2019, the Olongapo City RTC Branch 72 sentenced to life imprisonment Luib, the gunman who killed Sytin after finding him guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
Judge Richard Paradeza also convicted Luib for frustrated murder in connection with the shooting of Sytin’s bodyguard Efren Espartero.
Luib pleaded guilty to the murder and frustrated murder cases filed against him and confessed that he was ‘hired’ by the victim’s brother to kill the latter. Court records showed that Sytin’s brother has denied all the allegations against him.
