CEBU CITY -- Wellington Lim, younger brother of alleged drug lord Peter Lim, reportedly left for Hong Kong on Tuesday, four days after he was ambushed by gunmen outside their music bar.
The Cebu City Police could thus not move forward with its investigation on the attempt on Wellington’s life, said Supt. Ryan Devaras of the Investigation and Detective Management Branch on Wednesday.
Devaras said investigators have been inviting Wellington to shed light on the drive-by shooting incident, but he refused to cooperate.
Wellington's reported flight would not help them in their investigation, he added.
However, the Cebu City Police has yet to verify the report if he had indeed left for Hong Kong.
Earlier, the Lim family hinted that policemen were involved in the attack, saying the gunmen who ambushed Wellington before midnight of March 23 used high-powered firearms and a vehicle usually issued to the Philippine National Police.
Wellington was ambushed by unidentified men armed with M16 rifles outside the Infinity KTV and Music Bar, owned by the Lim family, along Archbishop Reyes Ave. near the Cebu Business Park.
He was about to leave the establishment aboard his Ford Expedition when the gunmen, on board a white pick-up truck, fired and riddled his vehicle with bullets.
Wellington survived the attack due to his bullet-proof car. However, a security guard was killed and three others were wounded in the ambush.
Security guard Wilson Bucay, who was guiding Wellington's vehicle out of the bar’s parking lot, died instantly with several wounds on his body, while bar entrance guard George Lambating was grazed on his arm and face.
German nationals Pauline Basbach and Manuel Goerrings, who were passing by the area at the time, were also hit by stray bullets in the thigh and arm, respectively.
The wounded security guard and the foreign tourists were brought to the Perpetual Succour Hospital.
In 2000, Wellington and Peter were subjected to a congressional inquiry on illegal drugs, in which two of their former employees testified about the brothers’ involvement in the drug trade. (PNA)
