(Photo courtesy of IMEG)
MANILA – A police officer in Taguig City was arrested for extortion, the anti-scalawag unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported on Thursday.
In a report to PNP chief, Gen. Debold Sinas, Col. Thomas Frias, Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group (IMEG) acting director identified the suspect as Chief M/Sgt. Minly Gutierrez, who is assigned at the Vehicular Traffic Investigation Unit of Taguig City Police Station.
Gutierrez was arrested by IMEG agents and operatives of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) in an entrapment inside the police station at around 5:10 p.m. Wednesday after he received PHP20,000 in exchange for the release of an impounded car that was involved in an accident.
Acting on the complaint of a foreigner who was involved in a car crash, HPG and IMEG operatives initiated the entrapment operation against Gutierrez.
“We have received a complaint regarding the involvement of policeman who demanded PHP15,000 for alleged traffic fines and penalties incidental to the vehicular accident they involved and for the release of the vehicle,” said Frias.
He said that prior to the said incident, Gutierrez demanded PHP500,000 from the complainant to settle their involvement in a vehicular accident and another PHP20,000 for their release.
Frias said the suspect was immediately brought at the IMEG headquarters in Camp Crame for booking and filing of criminal charges for robbery-extortion and will also be facing administrative charges for grave misconduct.
He also called on the public to report the presence of any erring policemen to the PNP-IMEG hotlines: Smart- 09989702286 or Globe- 09957952569. He said that information may also be forwarded to Facebook Page: Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group. (PNA)
