BY AARON RECUENCO
Operatives of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) arrested a police sergeant for extorting P500,000 from a foreigner to settle a vehicular accident in Taguig City.
HPG Director Alexander Tagum said suspect Chief Master Sgt. Minly Gutierrez also demanded P20,000 from a Chinese allegedly for the medical expenses of his victim in a road crash incident on November 23.
Gutierrez is assigned to the Vehicular Traffic Investigation Section of the Taguig City Police Station 1.
“He was arrested inside the police station after receiving the money,” said Tagum, adding that the operation occurred on Wednesday afternoon.
Based on the report, the complainant figured in a road accident on November 23 in Taguig City. The case was then handled by Gutierrez.
The policeman allegedly demanded P500,000 from the complainant to settle the case and eventually prevent the filing of the case. He also forced the complainant to pay P20,000 for medical expenses.
The complainant then sought the assistance of the HPG which in turn conducted entrapment with the help from the Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) headed by Col Thomas Frias.
Part of the P500,000 payment, according to Frias, is the release of the complainant’s vehicle, an L-300 van. (Aaron Recuenco)
