Principal suspect in rape-slay freed

Thirty-six-year-old Asterio F. Bajo walked to freedom yesterday afternoon after spending 10 days in jail in connection with charges that he raped and murdered a waitress at Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino.

The Superior Court ordered the release of Mr. Bajo following the recommendation by Kevin Lynch, chief of the Criminal Division of the Attorney General’s Office. In his motion, Mr. Lynch said the CNMI government does not intend to press criminal charges against Mr. Bajo as a result of additional investigation that has been performed.

Sources said based on fresh information gathered by investigators, there were strong indications proving Mr. Bajo’s innocence.

“I am so happy. It’s like waking up from a bad dream,” he said. Looking tired and haggard, Mr. Bajo said he had difficulty sleeping and eating since his arrest in Tinian on Feb. 22, 2000.

“I was so scared, so nervous that I might rot in jail and not be able to see my family again,” he said.

Mr. Bajo has not seen his wife and two children. who are residing in the northern Philippine province of Pangasinan, for the last seven years. He has been working in Tinian since he arrived on the island in 1990.

Philippine Consulate officials immediately brought Mr. Bajo back to Tinian last night.

According to Mr. Bajo, he was surprised that he was dragged into the brutal rape and murder of Hui Yang, 24, a waitress at the Tinian Dynasty, as he claimed that he hardly knew Juanito Alcantara, who tagged him as the mastermind.

“Until now I cannot understand why he dragged me into this case. I did not do anything, I did not kill anybody,” he said.

While detained in Tinian, Mr. Bajo begged and pleaded for Mr. Alcantara to tell the truth and just admit what he did. But Mr. Alcantara simply ignored him. When the staff from the Philippine Consulate visited him at the detention center in Saipan, he broke down and cried.

Members of the Filipino community in Tinian immediately organized a support group to vouch for Mr. Bajo’s innocence maintaining that the man was wrongfully accused. However, they could not say the same thing for Mr. Alcantara.

Evidence, however, points to Mr. Alcantara as the one responsible for the crime since he was the last person seen with Ms. Hui when he fetched her at Tinian Dynasty security outpost. Ms. Hui, a Chinese national, was a regular customer of Viva Poker Game Room.

Although he denied seeing the girl when first questioned by the police, he later on admitted that he did fetch her at around 1:00 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2000 because he was seen in the security camera.

Yesterday, Mr. Lynch filed seven counts of criminal charges against Mr. Alcantara, including first degree murder and premeditated murder.

Mr. Alcantara is still detained in the Division of Corrections in Susupe.

Investigation on the case continues and the prosecutors are looking for additional evidence that will be analyzed with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.