Sad News to be aware off.

In that sad Cebu case, if it is true that witnesses actually saw a foreigner take the girl, then I hope they find the person quickly. There are many perverts that come to the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, etc to molest children, unfortunately.

 

Rough translation;


NBI "It could not have been them because we have verified their alibi. They were caught on video at a local store 40 minutes after the kidnapping. The store is a 2 hour drive from the kidnap site."

PNP "We are not picking up innocent people from the streets just to charge someone. I have conscience too. We are charging them because we can't find the real killers!"

Welcome to the Philippines!



http://www.dagbladet.../cebu/15474733/

To the hospital after a new nightmare-day

After several hours with investigators who were trying desperately to find child pornography on the fiances computer, murder accused Sven Erik Berger had to go to the emergency.

Dagbladet): Late last night was Sven Erik Berger (49) hospitalized with fever and a dangerous lack of sleep after the nightmare last five days.

- In a way it's just ridiculous, but I will be so catastrophic that we are sad that innocent people are sitting in the soup here day after day, "Berger told Dagbladet.

Everything now indicates that he and Karen Castro Esdrelon (24) are victims of a Philippine police scandal, in which the only motive for maintaining the child-murder indictment is the fear of standing on bare ground in the investigation.

- On one side we have the family of the victim who struggle every day crying and demands answers, on the other hand, a couple who are trying to prove his innocence. We try to balance this. In addition, the Norwegian embassy is following everything we do. It is clear we are in a difficult situation, "said a police officer central to the paper.


Child Witnesses
But the official would not Cebu police admit any mistakes, although federal colleagues in the NBI has confirmed the accused's alibi: A well-photographed day off where they checked into a hotel with surveillance cameras two hours away venue - 40 minutes after the event.

- Thank God we were not on a picnic in the woods or anything like that day when we had lacked an alibi and ended up rotting in prison, "said Berger.

In the temporary custody arrangement on politistasjoen was newly engaged couple yesterday surrounded by dozens of Esdrelons relatives, who both provided food and motivational talks through the increasingly intricate process.

The entire criminal case against the pair are now based on the fact that three school children on Saturday night was rushed to the airport police to point out the man and the woman they had seen kidnap Ellah Joy Pique (6). In a witness confrontation without comparable pairs, the children have pointed to Berger and Esdrelon, who was arrested only because a passport inspector thought they looked like a phantom drawing distributed by the police.

- We can not just put aside the children's testimony. It is up to the accused to prove his innocence, "said deputy police chief Eduardo Saavedra Ylaja to Dagbladet.


Unsuccessful PC hunting
Dagbladet know that the only theory for lost ones have about the subject, the production of child pornography. Therefore, it was yet another blow to the police when their computer expert for four hours with Berger, Esdrelon and their attorney went through the seized laptop and the recovered deleted files - without finding anything but hundreds of innocent holiday photos.

Yesterday it was impossible for the couple to get a clear answer on what happens next. What they know is that they are still charged with having kidnapped, killed and dumped a six year old girl, and that they are guarded round the clock by police officers with automatic weapons, even in the hospital.

- It is these accused we have. We have no other trace of the matter, "said deputy police chief Saavedra, dismissing speculation that the process towards the norwegian and his fiancee took off to calm down a frightened local residents after the horrific child killing.

- We are not picking up innocent people from the streets just to charge some. I have conscience too, "says Saavedra.

 

For Pat O with no offence intended. If you know of all these perverts around please report them. I know for sure that all countries you listed would come down very hard on such if they were known. There are not many of these around and when they are found out they should be delt with a without mercy. Your generalising statement above
could well bring unwanted attention to many single males of all nationalities who live and visit those countries.
I still pray that the perpetrators of this sad crime are found and the truth be told. As for this poor couple still in captivity I hope that they will be released soon. Take care all.

 

I have cable here and watch the CI (Crime Investigation) channel a lot.
It is true what you say and there are documentaries about these crimes against children by foreigners when CI spotlights Asia.
Much more goes on than is reported if the rules of sex crimes here follow the same path as they do in the U.S.
Such behavior is probably not rampant, but occurs enough to make a lot of us nervous as to how the locals might percieve all of us when one dirtbag screws up.

 

From today's Sunstar;

CEBU CITY -- The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Central Visayas submitted Friday a report that supports a Norwegian national and his Cebuana fiancee's alibi that they were elsewhere at the time a six-year-old girl was kidnapped in Minglanilla.

At least 14 photographs, captured from the footage of the Waterfront Hotel's security cameras, were submitted to Governor Gwendolyn Garcia. She will submit the full report on Monday to the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor's office.

The first two photos show the couple, Sven Erik Berger and Karen Esdrelon, entering the hotel at 4:44 p.m. last February 8, bringing their bags. At 4:45 p.m., they were registering at the front desk. Each photo bears a date and time stamp.


According to witnesses, Ellah Joy Pique, 6, was abducted from outside a public school in Minglanilla past 4 p.m. on February 8.

The town lies more than 15 kilometers south of Cebu City.

Asked if she was convinced Berger and Esdrelon are not the suspects, Garcia replied: "You can make your own conclusion." She also declined to say whether she will seek the relief of Cebu Provincial Police Chief Erson Digal.

"As I said, expect action. Abangan ang susunod na kabanata," the governor said during a press conference where she presented the NBI Central Visayas's report to the press.



NBI-Central Visayas Director Edward Villarta declined to comment.

"There is a need to strengthen the case further," Senior Superintendent Patrocinio Comendador said in a separate interview. He suggested looking into other accounts that three other suspects were involved in the child's death.

The chief of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Branch said their conference last Thursday afternoon was meant to guide the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) on what to do.

Comendador said the evidence, for now, is limited to the identification by three child-witnesses.

CPPO Director Erson Digal, in a phone interview, agreed they need to gather more evidence, but refused to comment on the NBI's findings.

"Bahala na ang piskalya ana (It's up to the prosecutor's office)," he said.

Director Villarta of the NBI pointed out the police were under pressure to file a complaint because they could not hold the suspects beyond 36 hours without doing so.

"Medyo pressured din sa time. May fiscal naman (There's a prosecutor) to weigh the evidence," he told Sun.Star Cebu.

Garcia said she was satisfied with the NBI's report, which was done in "a very careful, circumspect, thorough and quiet manner, without trumpets blaring or cameras rolling."

"They did their job in a most professional and unheralded manner, which befits persons of their credibility. They did not come out with press releases in spite of your (media's) badgering. They chose to remain quiet but worked thoroughly and now I have been presented with a report that has zeroed in to the verification of the story that was presented by this couple," she said.

She said she asked the NBI to verify the alibi of Berger and Esdrelon, after she talked with the couple last Sunday. The NBI did not interfere with the police, she pointed out, but acted based on her instruction as chairperson of the Provincial Task Force Against Criminality. That task force includes the NBI.

Garcia also said that what happened to Berger should not be considered a diplomatic faux pas, as there is a need to balance peace and order with the initiative of attracting tourists to visit Cebu.

"However, the bottom line is, fairness and justice to all concerned, and that is the reason why, as I have said, as the chair of the anti-criminality task force, we should get to the bottom of it and get the truth," she said.

Comendador, in a separate interview, said the police should find the black sports utility vehicle the child's captors used and trace the origins of the cloth wrapped around her body.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Cebu has deferred the release of their report on the black SUV that a Caucasian man and a Filipina used to abduct Ellah Joy. Witnesses caught only the tail end of the license plate (679) and not the three-letter prefix.

LTO-Central Visayas Director Raul Aguilos said the agency's IT provider, Stradcom, has not finished retrieving its data yet.

Ellah Joy's family has scheduled her burial for this Sunday.

Mary Jane Pique, the child's grandmother, said that despite doubts raised in recent days, she remains convinced the police arrested the right couple.

Exactly a week ago, Berger and Esdrelon were kept from boarding a 10:15 p.m. flight to Hong Kong, after an immigration officer said he saw their resemblance to police-made sketches of the suspects in Ellah Joy's case. (RSA/KAL/JKV/Sun.Star Cebu)


So, they still sit in jail waiting for a day in court.

Larry

 

More;


Judge says lawyer of Norwegian, Pinay fiancee filed the wrong petition | Sun.Star Network Online


NORWEGIAN computer engineer Sven Erik Berger and fiancée Karen Esdrelon remain in police custody in connection with the abduction and death of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique.

This came after defense lawyer Salvador Solima failed to convince the court to issue an order directing authorities to release his clients.

Solima filed a petition for habeas corpus yesterday morning. The petition was tackled by Judge Soliver Peras of the Regional Trial Court Branch 10 at 4 p.m.

But during the hearing, Peras told Solima that he should have filed a petition to fix bail of his clients, instead of habeas corpus.

Prosecution lawyer Troy Warren Cayanan said Berger and Esdrelon had signed a waiver to signify agreement to their continued detention at the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), pending the submission of their counter-affidavit within seven days.

The waiver, the prosecution said, was signed during the inquest proceeding and the filing of charges last Feb. 15.

Apart from this, Peras pointed out that the special complex crime of kidnapping with homicide charges against Berger and Esdrelon has been filed with the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor.

Withdrawal

The judge said the presumption in the filing of habeas corpus petition is that the respondents are detained against their will.

Solima withdrew the habeas corpus petition and filed a petition to fix bail past 5 p.m.

Peras set the hearing of the amended petition on Feb. 23.

Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, chief of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Branch, said the CPPO needs more evidence in the Pique kidnap-slay case.

But he said the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 will not take over the investigation.

Other suspects

“There is a need to strengthen the case further,” he told reporters yesterday, adding that the evidence against Berger and Esdrelon was only the testimony of three children.

Comendador suggested to the CPPO to look into other accounts that there are three other suspects in the case.

He said the CPPO should find the black sports utility vehicle used by the suspects and trace the origins of the cloth wrapped around the child’s body.

In a phone interview, CPPO Director Erson Digal admitted the CPPO still have to gather more evidence.

But he refused to comment on the video taken by a CCTV camera, which shows the couple at the pool of a hotel in Cebu City.

Warrantless

“Bahala na ang piskalya ana (It’s up to the fiscal’s office),” he said.

In the petition for habeas corpus, Solima alleged that the police illegally arrested the couple while they were about to board a flight to Hong Kong at the Mactan Cebu International Airport last Feb. 12. The arrest was conducted without a warrant.

Named respondents in the habeas corpus petition were the CPPO and Digal.

Solima said his clients were arrested based on the “imagination” of the cartographer. He added that Berger and Esdrelon never left Cebu City on Feb. 8, the day Pique was abducted.

As Berger and Esdrelon present certifications and pictures to prove they were in Cebu City when Pique was kidnapped in Minglanilla, Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez criticized Digal for declaring the case closed with the couple’s arrest.

‘Incompetent’

Ramirez, in a press statement, described Digal as “incompetent” and a “bumbling fool.”

“He exposes our police’s ineptitude and backwardness in investigating crimes, especially since all countries are already using DNA testing. Most importantly, with Digal’s influenced-by-heart-crime-solved stance, the police will be letting their guard down while the real perpetrators go scot-free,” he said.

Digal dismissed Ramirez’s criticism. “Nisakay lang na siya sa panahon (He is just taking advantage of the situation),” he said.

Ramirez said he is a “victim” of Digal.

Digal had identified Ramirez as a suspect in the death of the mayor’s aide.

“I want to point out the need for Cebu to have a police director who has some common sense and not the bumbling fool that we have presently. As a recent victim of his stupidity, I can only commiserate with the unfortunate couple that Digal’s heart says are both guilty,” Ramirez’s statement read.

Berger and Esdrelon, accompanied by the police, arrived at the Palace of Justice at 5:10 p.m. yesterday.

In an interview with reporters, Berger said they do not plan to file charges against the policemen who arrested them and that they are more concerned about their safety.

He said that while he “loves” the Philippines, he considers their arrest as bringing “shame to the Filipino country.”

He said he hopes the police will soon get the “real killers.” “I understand their (victim’s family) reactions. I also have kids.”

If they are proven innocent, Berger said he would still return to the Philippines. “(But) I hope it (arrest) won’t happen again to us.”



Larry

 

Latest news from Sunstar.

Defense lawyer withdraws petition for bail as task force looks at other angles | Sun.Star Network Online

Take care all.

 

Children don't necessarily lie, as the man said in your news story, Firefly, but they are prone to imagination and can be wrong about what they have seen.
Even most adults can't trust their memories when it comes to details and recognizing a face they have only seen one time and for such a short period of time.
I'd say this man isn't tipping his hand just yet and the Cebu Province is in for a possible major lawsuit.
I think Berger is not admitting he will file suit so as to be released sooner and I don't blame him.
People here have "disappeared" after threatening action against certain entities in this area.

 

This is looking like it can be an episode of "Locked up Abroad" that is on tv. I am wondering if, given some Scandinavians have the many of same features, that it is a case of mistaken identity? I would think the tatoo markings stated by the witnesses, and the arrested suspect has none, would sway the witnesses to say they may have some doubt.. What a nightmare.

 

It is much worse than that. The suspect and his girl are on video camera checking in at the Waterfront hotel 15 minutes after the alleged kidnapping. (At 4 pm, it is at least 40 minutes from there to Minglanilla where the kidnapping took place) They have time stamped receipts from the hotel, to go along with the video. They also have time stamped receipts from a jewelry store from just prior to going to the hotel, and have receipts and are also on video at an upscale restaurant just after checking into the hotel. Not to mention all the witnesses that will state they were there.

The chief of police told the Governor that the hotel was not cooperating and would not give info, but the hotel staff says they were very cooperative and supplied all the to the police chief on the day of the arrest. It wasn't until the governor called in the NBI a week later that it came to light that their alibi is "watertight". The NBI states it could not possibly have been them. Teh police chief has now resigned, after a meeting with the gov.

The father of the victim has now changed his story, saying the kidnapping took place earlier in the day. Of course, that doesn't coincide with the time school lets out, or the other other witnesses testimony.

Yet there they are over two weeks later, still in jail, with no end in sight.

It looks like it will have to go to trial, which will likely take several years in which they will rot in a filth hole. The prosecutors, meanwhile, are now trying to get all the evidence (videos, receipts, etc.) DISMISSED!

Larry