HK forensic team barred from probing hostages’ bus

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Saturday prevented a team of forensic experts from Hong Kong from examining the ill-fated tourist bus where 21 Hong Kong tourists were held hostage last Monday, saying there is a need to preserve evidence from the bloody hostage-taking that killed nine people. Five Chinese forensic experts from Hong Kong arrived at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Saturday to conduct their own investigation on Monday’s hostage-taking incident, but were barred from entering the bus due to lack of clearance from Philippine authorities. “They would have to go to the Department of Justice… Considering it [the bus] is a (piece of) evidence, we would like to preserve it as such. We would have to ask for a clearance," Senior Superintendent Joel Coronel, team leader of the PNP’s field investigators, said in an interview aired on Saturday over GMA News’ “24 Oras." The Hong Kong forensic team, however, was allowed to look around the bus surrounded by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to ensure transparency of the investigation, according to Coronel.
On August 23, dismissed Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza hijacked a Hong Thai tourist bus carrying 21 Hong Kong tourists and four Filipinos. After an 11-hour hostage drama, nine people died — the hostage-taker and eight Hong Kong tourists. (See: Hostage crisis ends in bloody carnage; 8 hostages dead) The bus, which sustained much damage with some of its seats stained with blood after the incident, was towed on Wednesday from the site of the tragedy at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila’s historic Rizal Park to PNP's Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City to be able to preserve evidence of the bloody hostage-taking. PNP spokesperson Agrimero Cruz Jr. meanwhile said that the forensic team from Hong Kong is “very welcome" to conduct a parallel investigation of the incident. “Kung ano man examination ang gawin nila (Whatever examination they intend to do), that is well within their turf," he said in a separate television interview. He however appealed to the Hong Kong authorities to provide the PNP with copies of the results of their own investigation for Philippine authorities to be able to determine if the two probes have discrepancies. “Sana ay mabigyan din tayo ng copy or data kung ano man ang makuha nila para maisama natin sa ating reports (We hope that whatever they get, they also provide us with copy or data so we can include these in our reports)," he said. Officials from the Philippines and China have earlier said that investigations on the incident would have to be finished before the two countries start their meetings. (See: RP to end hostage probe before meeting with China)—Andreo C. Calonzo/JV, GMANews.TV