RAPE-SLAY ON TINIAN Witnesses back suspect’s claim of innocence

There is one thing Asterio F. Bajo discovered amid accusations that he raped and killed another guest worker: nightmares occur even after one has already risen from sleep.

However, Mr. Bajo’s nightmare does not end when police arrested him last week for a crime he insisted he did not commit. Consul Julia Heidemann said Mr. Bajo was still in shock when a team from the Philippine Consulate paid him a visit earlier this week.

Mr. Bajo was worried not because he is under threat to spend several years in jail. Ms. Heidemann said he was more worried that his wife in Manila would learn about the accusations he faces here.

Concerned about the potential problem it may cause her wife who suffers heart problems, Mr. Bajo has requested the Consulate not to inform his wife that he is languishing in a Saipan jail.

“So, what the Consulate will do is communicate with Mr. Bajo’s brother and tell him that no money is coming their way in the next few months because he is in jail,” Ms. Heidemann said.

Mr. Bajo has been religiously sending a minimum of $300 each month to his family back in the Philippines.

According to Ms. Heidemann, Mr. Bajo gave the Consulate team a blank response when asked if he is aware of the gravity of the accusation hurled against him.

In what appears to be a major boost to Mr. Bajo’s claim of innocence, a group of Filipino contract workers from Tinian yesterday informed the Consulate of their willingness to testify in the suspect’s defense.

In turn, the Consulate has contacted the CNMI Public Defender’s Office which also yesterday accepted the testimony of at least eight Filipino workers who will attest to Mr. Bajo’s innocence.

They said all indications are pointing to the fact that the alleged mastermind in the rape-slay of Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino waitress Hui Yang has been wrongfully accused.

Ms. Heidemann said the Filipinos will be presented to give their testimony during the preliminary hearing of the case at the sala of Superior Court Judge Timothy Bellas on Friday.

Mr. Bajo was identified by Juanito M. Alcantara as the one who raped and murdered the 24-year-old Ms. Hui, a Chinese national who was reported missing on Feb. 19, 2000.

Mr. Alcantara, who has been charged as accessory to the crime, has been jobless for about six months, doing only some chores for Viva Poker game room.

According to people who know him, Mr. Alcantara has no close friends in Tinian and was not exactly a likable person. He was even accused in the robbery of Gold Mart where several pieces of jewelry were found missing on Dec. 29, 1999 worth about $50,000.

He was asked by Viva Poker’s cashier, Eden M. Lozano, to pick up Ms. Hui, a regular customer of the game room, at Tinian Dynasty on the night the victim was reported missing.