17-year-old Fil-Jap held by alleged cop over wheelchair

By Ronron
March 5, 2007

A 17-year-old Filipino-Japanese man on Monday was held for almost two hours by a person who claimed to be a policeman over a wheel chair the latter was trying to buy from the former at a medical supplies shop in Manila City.

Police identified the victim as Shinje Kawakami, 17, a helper at Life Scan Medical Supply store located on Rizal Avenue, Sta. Cruz.

Police said a certain SPO4 Ogie Villanueva, allegedly of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), wanted to buy a P2,800-worth wheel chair from Kawakami but was short of P1,300.00.

When Kawakami refused to sell the wheel chair to Villanueva for P1,500.00, the latter allegedly got mad and brought out his gun, apparently to threaten the shop employees.

Villanueva then held Kawakami and the wheel chair, and told the other employees that he will bring Kawakami back to the shop once he secures the payment balance. They left aboard a Toyota Lite Ace before shortly before 10am.

Kawakami later told police that Villanueva took him to a subdivision in Parañaque City where the payment was made. He claimed that Villanueva also gave him snacks before he was sent off back to the shop.

Kawakami told police he was back to the shop “unharmed” at around 12:30 noon.

“In view of the foregoing, (may I) request the lifting of the alarm RE-ALLEGED ABDUCTION, while the complaint against the suspect will depend on the owner of the Life Scan Medical Supply who is now in NCRPO to ascertain the identity of the suspect,” said Supt. Rommel Cabagnot of the Manila Police District (MPD) Station 3 in his report./DMS