Alleged hostage-taker found dead inside Vizcaya jail

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – An alleged hostage-taker was found dead inside his cell in Santa Fe town here last Aug. 22, a belated police report said Sunday. Authorities said the body of Antonio Caban-nag, 46, of Navokar village in Bontoc, Mountain Province, was found dead inside his cell with his polo shirt wrapped around his neck several hours after the hostage-taking incident. Investigators reported that on the morning of Aug. 22, Caban-nag held hostage a nine-year-old girl at knife point in the town’s Baliling village for a still unknown reason. The report said residents of the village were able to subdue the suspect, who was immediately turned over to the police. The report also said that prior to the incident, the victim’s relatives noticed Caban-nag as being restless and manifesting suicidal tendencies, prompting policemen to clear his detention cell of any material that he can use to harm himself. Caban-nag was found dead that evening. The incident happened on a day before another hostage-taking incident, this time in Manila, resulted in the deaths of eight tourists from Hong Kong. The hostage-taker, dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza, was killed by SWAT operatives following an 11-hour standoff. – Floro Taguinod/KBK, GMANews.TV