Police chief charged for molesting reporter

Charges of sexual molestation were filed against a Rizal province police chief for allegedly molesting a female radio reporter inside a KTV bar in Quezon City last Friday.

Chief Inspector Mario Sapla has been relieved as chief of the Rodriguez police station, but his superior, Rizal provincial director Senior Superintendent Ferdie Panen, denied the relief was due to the complaint.

Sapla is now acting chief of the Angono, Rizal police station.

The complainant, who has been working at a radio station for only a few months, filed the complaint with the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

In her two-page complaint, the reporter said Sapla touched and kiss her private parts while they were at a KTV bar last Sept. 30.

Prior to the incident, the reporter was with a number of her colleagues and had dinner with Panen and Sapla at a restaurant in Antipolo City. After dinner, the reporter said Sapla brought them back to their office in Quezon City, where she left her car.

The reporter said Sapla later called her up and invited her to have coffee in Quezon City, to which she agreed.

She was taken to the KTV bar, where Sapla allegedly took advantage of her.

The reporter said Sapla’s driver witnessed the incident.

Panen told The STAR that he had talked to Sapla, who denied the accusation.

"I can’t take any action against Sapla as the case is now with the IAS. I’ll just wait for the decision" Panen said.