HK inquest: Bullets fail to prove who shot victims in Manila hostage crisis

The tests on the bullet fragments taken from the eight fatalities in last year's Manila hostage crisis gave no clear indication of whether the victims were shot by their hostage-taker or by a police rescue team. This information was relayed to the Hong Kong inquest investigating the August 23 incident, Radio Television Hong Kong reported Thursday. During Thursday's inquest, a Hong Kong police ballistics expert said the victims were shot from a distance of at least 16 inches, the RTHK report said. Eight Chinese tourists from Hong Kong were killed along with their hostage-taker, dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, in the August 23 hostage crisis last year. Mendoza had taken a tour bus in Manila hostage to demand for his reinstatement into the police force. In the earlier hearings of the Hong Kong inquest, the witnesses testified Mendoza initially seemed to have no intention to hurt them. However, Mendoza reportedly became mad after seeing his brother being arrested on live TV. Hong Kong had invited more than 100 Filipino witnesses to the inquest but more than 70 declined the invitation. – VVP, GMA News