Missing Cebu trader’s kin want police search halted

CEBU CITY — The police investigation into the disappearance of businessman John Douglas Yu Sy will now include an inquiry into why his family suddenly wants the police to stop looking for the missing truck operator.

Police regional director Avelino Razon Jr. said that while the search for Sy, now missing for exactly a week, will continue, investigators will also look into the sudden change of heart of the Sy family.

Philip Landicho, lawyer of the Sy family, was quoted in a Sun Star report as saying that his clients do not know why Sy disappeared but that they want to believe it is for personal reasons, hence they want to be left alone.

Interviewed on dyLA about this development, Razon issued a veiled threat about Sy and his family facing the consequences if his disappearance is found to have been staged.

"Sy should face the consequences of his actions. And if he has violated the law, he should be ready to accept whatever sanctions are due him," Razon said.

Superintendent Edwin Diocos, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) which is leading the investigation, said the Sy family should put in writing any request for the police to stop their search.

He fears that the police might get blamed if something happens to Sy if the police terminate their search.

Diocos, however, is not inclined to terminate the investigation in midstream, saying it will set a bad precedent and will create a negative impression of the police.

With the new development, Diocos said the police are now more inclined to suspect that Sy had gone into hiding for personal or business reasons, possibly over unpaid debts.

Landicho, however, rejected speculations that Sy is facing huge debts but would not venture on possible reasons for his disappearance.

The CIDG has already spent about P50,000 since it launched the search for Sy on Saturday last week, the day he went missing.

The expense was for transportation and meals, pocket money for operatives, and tips for informants.

Ten CIDG operatives have been assigned to the case, two of them going as far as Guihulngan in Negros Oriental to verify reports that Sy was sighted there. The report did not bear out.

Agents have also fanned out to different towns but their efforts have proved negative.

Cebu City police chief Lani-o Nerez said the police are now more inclined to dig deeper into the case because of the strange request of the Sy family for the police to stop looking for him. — Freeman News Service