Suspect in rape-slay wrongfully accused?

Tinian – Nonresident workers in Tinian decried the arrest of Asterio F. Bajo, tagged as mastermind in the rape and murder of another guest worker, claiming that the suspect was wrongfully accused of the crime.

Described as a quiet and hardworking employee, Mr. Bajo, 34, is the type of person who would not even pick up a fight or dare reason out when his employer scolds him.

Police have filed rape, first degree murder and criminal mischief case against Mr. Bajo and his co-accused Juanito M. Alcantara before the Superior Court.

A supervisor at Listo Print Shop and General Maintenance, Mr. Bajo has been working in Tinian for almost 10 years now, regularly sending his salary back home to support his wife and two children in Pangasinan, a province north of Manila. He has not seen his family for the past seven years because he has to save every cent that
he earns to pay for the huge amount of money he borrowed for the operation of his daughter who had harelip.

On Feb. 25, 2000, a group of Filipino contract workers met in Tinian to map out plans on how to help Mr. Bajo in his defense.

“We know him very well and we strongly believe that he was just being dragged in the case,” said Cindy Olvido, one of the organizers of the group.

Mr. Bajo was arrested by police last week after Mr. Alcantara identified him as the one who raped and murdered Hui Yang, 24, a casino waitress at the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino.

Ms. Hui, a Chinese national, was reported missing on Feb. 19, 2000 after she failed to show up at Viva Poker game room at around 1:00 a.m.. A regular customer of Viva, she called up the gameroom and asked to be picked up at Tinian Dynasty.

The gameroom’s cashier Eden M Lozano dispatched Mr. Alcantara to fetch Ms. Hui. Mr. Alcantara is not an employee of Viva Poker but was allowed by management to do some chores. Jobless for about six months now, Mr. Alcantara has been having difficulty looking for a job because of his pending labor case. In return for his assistance, the management of Viva gives him some money to help him get by. He gets tips too from the players from time to time.

Although jobless, Mr. Alcantara, who came from San Carlos, Pangasinan, has been continuously playing poker. He has no close friends in Tinian and was not exactly a likable person, according to people who know him.

In fact, Mr. Alcantara was accused in the robbery of Gold Mart where several pieces of jewelry were found missing on December 29, 1999 worth about $50,000.

There was no suspect in the robbery until one day, Ms. Lozano asked an employee of Gold Mart if the ring she was holding was indeed a diamond. The employee immediately recognized that it was one of the jewelry missing and reported it to the police. Later on, a rope chain type of necklace was discovered being sold by Mr.
Alcantara for $500 . It was now in the possession of the police.

A day after Ms. Hui was reported missing, Mr. Alcantara even lent $100 to a player and even paid his $300 debt to another gameroom Million Poker. He was able to get back his gold necklace which he pawned to the gameroom after paying his debt.

At first, Mr. Alcantara denied that he picked up Ms. Hui at the security outpost of Tinian Dynasty staff house. But when he was told that the hotel casino’s security video showed him fetched Ms. Hui, he changed his statement and eventually admitted that he did.

When Mr. Alcantara showed up at the gameroom at about 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 19, Ms. Lozano asked her where did he take Ms. Hui, even partly accusing him that he must have done something wrong to her.

Mr. Alcantara brushed off the accusation.