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HK team to probe hostage incident Monday


Forensic experts from Hong Kong will start on Monday their own investigation on the August 23 bloody hostage-taking incident in Manila, a week after the carnage that left eight Hong Kong tourists — as well as the hostage-taker, a dismissed policeman — dead. The investigators will be led by Detective Chief Inspector Larry Wan of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau of the Hong Kong Police, and Detective Chief Inspector Steve Lee of the Liaison Bureau of the International Police in Hong Kong. Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz said the Hong Kong forensic team will have “constructive possession" of the tourist bus where the 11-hour hostage-taking incident took place. Cruz clarified earlier reports that the team was barred from investigating the bus, saying there was just a mis-communication that was eventually ironed out.


“They [Hong Kong forensic experts] were not barred," Cruz said in an interview. “There was just some protocol that has to be observed, but we assured them that they will be given time to conduct their own investigation." The Hong Kong experts were initially disallowed from going inside the bus, which is now in a restricted area at the National Capital Region Police Office in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig, because an investigating team from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was then doing their own probe, Cruz explained. “There was a slight mis-coordination due to the unscheduled arrival of the Hong Kong Police, but this was ironed out because it’s not possible that two investigating teams are both inside the bus," said Cruz. At present, the participation of Hong Kong authorities is limited only to observing the processes being conducted by the NBI experts. Cruz said the PNP, which was the first to conduct an investigation; the NBI; and the Hong Kong experts will have a comparative analysis of the outcome of their respective investigations. - KBK, GMANews.TV
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