The South China Morning Post (SCMP) said Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim refused to appear as a witness in the Hong Kong probe of the 23 August tourist bus hijacking incident slated on February, saying that the investigation could be an "infringement on sovereignty."
The SCMP quoted Lim, "If they (Hong Kong) conduct an investigation and (the results) are different from those of our investigation, which will prevail?"
Li Yick-biu, 73, a survivor of the hostage crisis, said that the Philippine government is insincere after Lim said he will not appear before the HK inquest, The Daily Tribunereported.
Li was released unharmed by the hostage-taker during the botched rescue operation in central Manila that killed eight HK tourists.
Lim--who considers the issue as closed case--asserted that the HK investigation was not necessary since the Philippine-led investigation was already exhaustive.
The Aquino administration charged the mayor for "simple neglect" of duty for his role as head of the crisis management committee.
Chinese envoy to Manila Liu Jianchao said that summoned witnesses will not be prosecuted. Their statements will be used to help the probe.
Liu said, "[The testimonies] are not going to be related to any legal prosecution of the witnesses so we would like to have the cooperation from the Philippine side in defining the cause of death."
Author's note: What is there for Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim to worry about in appearing before the HK investigation? For fairness sake, if you believe you did not neglect your duty, go ahead and testify.
More details of the story here.
No comments:
Post a Comment