Korean tagged in attacks on bar girls

MANILA, Philippines - A Korean man, arrested Jan. 30 for allegedly keeping a bar girl locked up in his condominium unit for nine days, is being investigated by the Manila Police District (MPD) for the death of another bar girl whose dismembered body was found in 2011.

Kim Byung Huk was apprehended in his condominium unit in Ermita after the bar girl he detained escaped, went to the MPD Station 5 and filed charges of serious illegal detention, rape and serious physical injuries against him. The victim, identified only as April, also accused Kim of forcing her to take illegal drugs to keep her weak.

Kim, who is detained at the MPD headquarters, refused to comment.

A jeepney barker who saw Kim on television went to the MPD headquarters Friday night and said the Korean was with Camille Manaclay when she was last seen alive on March 31, 2011. The barker said he saw Kim and Manaclay getting into a taxi in front of the LA Café (now known as the Manila Bay Café) bar in Ermita.

Manaclay’s dismembered body was found in Barangay Mayapa in Calamba, Laguna the next day. Kim has not been charged for Manaclay’s murder pending the conclusion of the MPD’s investigation.

Another bar girl, identified as Ashley, who works in the same bar as April, also accused Kim of beating her up the whole day before she escaped from his condominium unit on Jan. 17.