Court convicts 4 over Tsinoy kidnap-slay

A LUCENA City judge on Friday sentenced to life imprisonment four suspects in the kidnapping-for-ransom and killing of a Filipino-Chinese businessman in Padre Garcia, Batangas, in December 2014.

Judge Dennis Galahad C. Orendain of the Lucena City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 53 found the accused “guilty” beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole.

Convicted were a dismissed Army soldier and three civilian cohorts. They were also ordered to each pay a total of P300,000 in civil and moral damages to the family of Jefferson Vince Uy, whom they kidnapped and killed in Barangay Tangob in Padre Garcia, Batangas, on December 12, 2014.

The criminal cases filed against the three other suspects in the case were ordered to be sent to the archives by the court.

Members of the “Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order” (MRPO) led by its chairman Melvin Dy and founder Ms. Teresita Ang-See and Department of Justice (DOJ) Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas watched the promulgation online at the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) headquarters in Camp Crame.

The group and Uy’s widow cheered the decision, the latest court victory achieved by the DOJ, the MRPO, and the PNP-AKG headed by Brigadier General Rodolfo D. Castil Jr. in its legal battle against kidnappers in the country.

In February 2018, the PNP leadership arrested the Army soldier, tagged as the 8th “most wanted person” (MWP) in the country, in connection with the Uy kidnapping-for-ransom with a homicide case. Judge Eloida Diaz of the Lucena City RTC Branch 58 ordered the arrest of the accused.

The suspect was arrested by a PNP-AKG tracker team in his hiding place in Barangay Ususan in Taguig City. A record check showed that the suspect soldier used to be a member of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division (ID) who was dismissed from the military service in 2006.

He was also accused of involvement in the kidnapping of another Filipino-Chinese national, identified as Santy Bryan Ang, in Lucban, Quezon, on December 12, 2012.

The suspect and his group demanded P7 million from the victim’s family. They eventually got a total of P1.069 million from the victim’s relatives.

The kidnappers were also accused of abducting Uy before demanding a P7 million ransom from his family. The kidnappers eventually reduced their demand to P357,000.

However, the suspects killed their captive despite having already received the ransom.

The rest of the suspects were eventually arrested in a series of manhunt operations conducted by PNP operatives led by those from the PNP-AKG.

The MRPO cited the strong partnership between their group, the PNP-AKG, and the DOJ in the conviction of the Uy kidnappers-killers.

Officers of the MRPO also gave full support to the family and comforted and counseled them, leading to their decision to fully help in the prosecution of the kidnappers.