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By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Security has been tightened at the Consulate after the man's arrest |
A Filipino male resident had to spend the night at the
Central Police station on Monday, Jan 24, after he was arrested for threatening
staff at the Philippine Consulate and pushing one of them to the ground as he
was being subdued after brandishing a golf club.
Hong Kong Police said the man is 41 years old and a
resident. He was arrested on suspicion of committing common assault and possessing
an offensive weapon but was released on police bail.
A spokesman said no charges have been filed yet as
investigations are continuing.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
According to an officer of the Consulate who asked
not to be named for security reasons, part of the bail conditions imposed on
the arrested person is that he should not approach any of their staff and should
not enter the Consulate premises.
The officer also said more charges could be laid
against the accused as they had filed a separate complaint against him after he allegedly threatened to burn down the Consulate and kill staff during calls he made to
their listed number.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
He said the Consulate has already turned over to the
police the CCTV footage taken during the alleged assault and the audio
recordings of his threatening phone calls.
In his calls, the man reportedly said “papatayin ko kayo” (I will kill all of you),
after saying he would burn down the Consulate.
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| The ATN section used to be accesible to the public (file) |
Police say the accused arrived at the Consulate at
about 10:30am on Jan 24, brandishing a golf club which measured 77 cm in length. They
received a phone call from one of the staff after the man allegedly started
wielding the club and threatening staff.
Consulate insiders said the man arrived with not just a golf club but also his baby. After handing the baby to one of the people inside the premises, he started swinging the golf club while making threats.
Several
male staff managed to subdue him, but only after one of them was pushed to the
ground by the suspect.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
According to the officer, the man had been agitated
because of a long-running dispute with his wife who has already gone home to
the Philippines.
After the Consulate was asked to intervene, the wife
reportedly promised to file a petition for annulment in the Philippines but failed
to do so because of a lack of funds.
The man reportedly vented his ire over this at the
Consulate’s ATN section, saying they should have made sure his
estranged wife kept her promise.
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| Press for details |
“We told him repeatedly that we did not have the power
nor the right to compel his wife to file for annulment,” said the officer. “All
we could do is advise them on how they could resolve their marital dispute.”
“Hindi niya
maintindihan o ayaw intindihin ang ganoong paliwanag. Pinilipit niya na dapat sabihan
namin ang asawa niya na ituloy ang pag file ng annulment.”
(He couldn’t, or wouldn’t understand what we kept telling
him. He kept insisting that we should tell his wife to pursue the filing of an
application for annulment).
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
As a result of the incident, security has been
tightened at the Consulate, with all visitors to the closed-off ATN section being
barred entry unless they have provided their personal details and the purpose
of their visit at one of the windows in the public area.
“We have to protect not only the Consulate and our staff but also members of our community who come to us for services and assistance,” said the officer.
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