4 men get death in Bataan kidnap case

The Pasig City Regional Trial Court sentenced four men yesterday to die by lethal injection for kidnapping an 11-year-old boy in December 1998.

Found guilty of illegal detention and kidnapping were Antonio Siongco, 36, security guard; Edilberto Enriquez, 37; Allan Bonsol, 29, tricycle driver and George Hayco, 25, carpenter, all residents of Bataan province.

Judge Jesus Bersamira, of Branch 166, ordered them to pay victim Nikko Satimbre, of San Jose, Balanga, Bataan and his mother Elvira, 42, P50,000 each in moral damages.

Bersamira, however, acquitted Marion Boton for lack of evidence.

In his 14-page decision, the judge junked the defense panel’s claim that the victim willingly went with them. He said the boy, at his age, "easily succumbed to the deception, ruse, treachery and stratagem foisted upon him by the accused."

"He was in physical custody and complete control by the accused. His immature, inexperienced and innocent mind never suspected the evil intentions of the accused," Bersamira added.

Court records showed that on Dec. 27, 1998, the boy was playing outside Footlockers Shoe Store in Balanga, Bataan where his mother was a cashier.

The victim met Siongco who promised to give him a "Gameboy," an electronic toy. After six hours, the boy again saw Siongco talking with the other accused, without Hayco.

Nikko approached the group and asked for the toy. The boy was tricked into going with Enriquez to get the toy from his house and later, from Hayco’s residence. There was no toy.

The next morning, Satimbre was brought to Bicutan, Taguig. They went to a marketplace where Enriquez called the boy’s mother to demand P400,000 in exchange for her son’s release.

The mother haggled for the amount to be reduced to P300,000. They agreed to meet at the Genesis Bus terminal in Pasay City for the ransom payment.

The elder Satimbre, however, reported the case to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) and an entrapment was set up. At the bus station, the mother met Siongco and Enriquez and she handed over an enveloped supposedly containing the money.

After the transaction was completed, the two were pounced on by PAOCTF agents while their cohorts were arrested during follow-up operations.