Updates On Alleged Abduction And Gang-Rape Case In Baguio City

Just a couple of days ago, Baguio City and the province of Benguet were rattled when news broke out that seven men allegedly abducted a 26-year-old woman in the city and then gang-raped her at a house in Tuding, Itogon. The woman hails from the town of Pozorrubio in Pangasinan and works as a waitress in one of the fast-food centers in the city.

The initial story went this way: The woman was allegedly abducted somewhere in Mines View in the evening of May 23 by seven men, brought to a house in Tuding, Itogon, and sexually assaulted in the course of several days (at least 5 days, per reports from the media). Two of the suspects are policemen assigned in Baguio City. The alleged crime was reported to the police in the evening of May 29. Four of the suspects including the two cops have been arrested (some say they voluntarily surrendered) and are now in the custody of the Itogon Municipal Police Station. The three remaining suspects are still at large.

Well, several days have passed. Police investigation is currently taking its course. The woman has been medically examined at the Baguio City General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC). We are also starting to learn more about the accuser and those accused.

For one thing, there are those who doubt the testimonies of the victim. This is largely because of the findings of the BGHMC when they examined her. There were no signs of physical and vaginal lacerations on her. Many find this to be rather strange in a rape case wherein the victim claims to have been assaulted by seven men.

But then again, the absence of lacerations or injuries doesn't mean a rape did not occur. Rape can still occur without causing any injury or lacerations.

Image credit: Dutchy4 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY SA- 3.0)

Among the victim's allegations was that one of the men who assaulted her took shabu before taking advantage of her. However, a drug test conducted on the four men in the custody of the Itogon police turned out negative. A test needs to be done on the three still-at-large suspects to determine if one of them used shabu or not.

Additionally, based on the sworn statement of the woman, she said that the seven men did what they did to her as revenge for a disagreement between her boyfriend and one of the suspects.

Just recently, the Benguet provincial prosecutor's office issued subpoenas to the four suspects under the custody of the Itogon police to file their counter-affidavits against the accusations of the victim and her boyfriend.

[Sources: Bombo Radyo Baguio, Herald Express, Police One]