Pinoy driver arrested for beheading compatriot in Saudi

MANILA, Philippines – Saudi police have arrested a Filipino driver after he allegedly admitted beheading his compatriot.

Arab News reported that the Filipino driver, whose name was withheld pending completion of the investigation, was arrested two hours after the crime.

The report said the Sulaimaniya District Police launched a manhunt after they found the victim’s head separated from his body in a garbage box north of Riyadh. The victim sustained nine stab wounds.

Ambassador Antonio Villamor said the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh is coordinating with police after the case was referred to the Investigation and Public Prosecution Board for necessary action.

Villamor assured the embassy will provide legal assistance to the suspect who may face the death penalty.

Police searched the Southeast Asian communities there and received information that a Saudi family in the area had two Filipino drivers, and one of them was missing.

“Security agents called the other driver and asked him about the missing driver. He said he had no information about his colleague but investigators became suspicious about him after they found some fresh wounds and marks in different parts of his body,” the report said.

The Filipino driver allegedly confessed to his colleague that he killed his compatriot and he recounted how he beheaded the victim.

The Department of Foreign (DFA) said 27 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are facing active death penalty cases, mostly charged with murder.

DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. said the cases are pending in court.

Of the 27 cases, Conejos said eight cases involve OFWs in Saudi Arabia who were charged with murder, four murder cases in Kuwait, 10 cases filed in Malaysia (seven cases involve drug trafficking, two involve rape with homicide and robbery with homicide, one murder in Tehran, one in the US, two in China and one case in Brunei.

The DFA said the conviction of two OFWs in Saudi Arabia who are on the death row is final and executory.

Conejos said the three Filipinos were sentenced to death by the high court but did not identify them.

He said that the two Filipino women awaiting execution were found guilty of murder with robbery in Riyadh. Their conviction in the Grand Shariah Court was sustained by the Court of Appeals and affirmed by the Supreme Judicial Council.

A royal decree of execution has been issued for the two Filipinas.              – Pia Lee-Brago