Ex-police officer behind murder of Korean in Philippines vanishes after guilty verdict: report

Former Police Superintendent Rafael Dumlao (Philippine Inquirer)

The whereabouts of a dismissed Filipino police officer, reportedly the main culprit behind the 2016 killing of a South Korean businessperson in Angeles City, the Philippines, remain unknown as of Monday, nearly two months after a local court sentenced him to life without parole.

According to local sources cited by Yonhap News Agency on Monday, the Philippine National Police has been unsuccessful so far in locating Rafael Dumlao, former head of the Philippine National Police’s Anti-illegal Drugs Group.

On July 11, an appellate court overturned a lower court’s acquittal of Dumlao, sentencing him to life imprisonment for orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of Korean national Jee Ick-joo. Dumlao had faced trial without physical detention.

Jee, 53, who reportedly ran a human resources firm after working as a director in a Korean heavy industries company, was abducted on Oct. 18, 2016, from his home north of Manila, along with domestic worker Marissa Morquicho, by law enforcement officials posing as part of a drug raid. The kidnappers intended to extort ransom money from his family and managed to collect around 5 million Philippine pesos ($88,900). While Morquicho was released the day after their abduction, Jee was strangled to death inside a vehicle at the national police headquarters in Quezon City.

Philippines’ law enforcement identified Dumlao and several other police officers as suspects in the kidnapping-homicide of Jee, with Dumlao alleged to be the mastermind behind the crime. However, the Angeles City Regional Trial Court exonerated him in June last year.

Yet, the Court of Appeals overturned this decision in July this year and sentenced Dumlao to reclusion perpetua, or a prison term of from 20 to 40 years, reportedly without eligibility for parole, with an additional 30 to 35 years prison term for carnapping, according to a statement issued by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

Dumlao was also ordered to pay 350,000 Philippine pesos in damages for kidnapping with homicide, along with 225,000 Philippine pesos in damages for kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

Last year, when Dumlao was exonerated, two of the four who had been accused of the same crimes with Dumlao -- Ricky Isabel and Jerry Omlang -- were sentenced to life imprisonment. The third suspect, Roy Villegas, turned into a state witness on behalf of the prosecution. The fourth suspect, Gerardo Santiago, had died from COVID-19.

By No Kyung-min(minmin@heraldcorp.com)