HK official: Rolando Mendoza's brother may testify before HK court via Skype

Barring last-minute hitches, the brother of hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza may testify before a Hong Kong court on last year's Manila hostage tragedy through video conferencing. According to a report of the Hong Kong Standard on Friday, Hong Kong Coroner's Court officer Jat Sew-tong said Gregorio Mendoza may testify through a remote video link on Tuesday next week. Jat said the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) allowed the use of Skype, a popular video-conferencing software, to help witnesses in the hostage tragedy in giving their testimonies to the Hong Kong court. He said Philippine Vice Consul Simon Val Roque relayed the Philippine government's decision to allow Skype testimonies to the Coroner's Court on Wednesday. However, the Standard report said the Hong Kong police are still waiting for authorization to fly to Manila to set up the link and monitor the process, Jat said. Jat explained that the Hong Kong court required the Hong Kong police to set up specific equipment and oversee the whole process in Manila. When the authorization is issued, a delegation of police officers and interpreters will to fly to Manila on Sunday to arrange for Gregorio to testify at a conference room of a commercial center in the Philippines, the Standard report said. Willing to testify Earlier, policeman Gregorio indicated that he wants to testify at the HK inquest investigating the August 23, 2010 incident where Rolando took hostage a bus with Hong Kong tourists. After an 11-hour standoff, Mendoza and eight Chinese tourists from Hong Kong were killed. Gregorio could not testify at the Hong Kong inquest about the incident in person due to passport issues. Hong Kong earlier invited more than 100 Filipinos to testify at its inquest into the hostage crisis, but most of them declined the invitation. On Tuesday, six survivors and relatives of the victims issued a joint letter demanding Manila send witnesses to the inquest and to provide crucial evidence, such as a DNA sample of Rolando. The letter also called for an immediate reply from Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. Pathologists: Fatalities killed by high-velocity gunfire Meanwhile, pathologists at Thursday's inquest said all the fatalities were due to high velocity-gunfire, with death occurring within minutes after they were shot. The five pathologists, who spent three days in court analyzing the autopsy reports, dismissed allegations that some victims did not survive due to a lack of immediate medical treatment. Doris Leung Chung-see, 21, sustained a gunshot to the head, which extensively lacerated her brain tissue. She died "within seconds," acting-senior forensic pathologist Lam Wai-kwok said. When he dissected her body, already examined by Philippine experts, he found that Leung's severely damaged brain had been taken out and put inside the body cavity. Some clothes were placed in the skull instead to maintain the shape of her head. Wong Tze-lam, 51, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest, and injuries to the esophagus, aorta, and lungs. Police negotiators The court also read out testimonies of two Manila police negotiators. Major Romeo Salvador said he had some experience as a negotiator but no professional training. Instead of two-way radio, only cell phones were used throughout the negotiations, he said. Salvador failed to communicate with the hostage-taker during the critical moments as the line was kept engaged by a radio personality doing a live interview, the court was told. – VVP, GMA News