Guimbal cops doubt teener’s kidnap tale
A tale to save one’s face.
This was how investigators of Guimbal Police Station equated allegations of a teenager who claimed that she was kidnapped by two men Saturday afternoon at Gerona St., Guimbal, Iloilo.
Guimbal PNP chief Insp. Jigger Gimeno noted several inconsistencies on the statement of alleged kidnap victim Marie (not her real name), 16, a student of the Guimbal National High School.
According to Marie, she was about to go home after going to a fiesta in Igbaras town when two men on board a white car snatched her near the town church.
They then traveled until they reached a house where she was made to join two other teenage girls.
During their stay inside the house, they were made to eat with salt as viand and drink water.
While claiming that they were not sexually molested or physically harmed, Marie alleged that they were not made to go out and were deprived of sleep.
By Saturday morning, she claimed that they saw a chance to escape after pulling some woods on the room where they were held.
They used to strike their alleged abductors and scampered from their “kidnapper’s hideout.”
Marie identified one of her two companions as a certain Kat-Kat.
She claimed that she did not know much about her “fellow kidnap victims” because they were not given a chance to talk lengthily.
It was during her escape that Marie allegedly knew that they were held somewhere in Brgy. Lambuyao, Oton town.
She then ran until she was able to flag down a tricycle, which brought her to the town proper.
Claiming that she still managed to snatch her mobile phone from her abductors, Marie claimed that she texted her mother to fetch her at Oton.
The kidnapping incident was reported that day at Guimbal Police Station.
But Gimeno claimed that Marie’s parents did not book her disappearance since it was not the first time she left home without any word.
Apparently, the parents did not take Marie’s word for it.
To compel the teenager to tell the truth, they brought her to the police station to recount her alleged ordeal before the investigators.
Gimeno claimed that as they were asking a lot of questions to the “victim,” they noted a lot of inconsistencies in her statement.
Police then brought her to Brgy. Lambuyao for her to pinpoint the house where they were allegedly kept.
But Marie claimed that she could not recognize it.
“We told her that she could not just pinpoint a house because if we would file charges against the wrong person, it would back fire on her,” Gimeno claimed.
Police investigators also made Marie to undergo a physical examination.
Kidnap-me?
The scepticism of investigators to buy Marie’s story even grew after they read a text message on the “victim’s” phone.
“The texter asked her if she already arrived home,” Gimeno said noting that the text message further stated: “Ti, kumusta ka da? Ako di ‘ya, wala man maabot.”
“So, we could not discount the possibility that she went with her friends and a boyfriend. To avoid the ire of her parents, she made up a story,” the Guimbal PNP chief added.
But still, Gimeno quickly pointed out that they are not taking for granted Marie’s testimonies.
As this developed, Guimbal PNP referred Marie to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for counseling.
