Filipino 'sextortion' suspects deny part in UK teen's suicide

MANILA, Philippines — Two Manila residents suspected of engaging in "sextortion" operations denied that they prompted the suicide death of a Scottish teenager last year.

Suspects Jomar Palacio, 23, and Vincent Bravo, 22, were arrested in May in an joint operation of Interpol, Scottish police and local authorities.

Along with Archie Tolin, 20, Bravo and Palacio are suspected of blackmailing 17-year-old Daniel Perry, who believed he was talking to a girl his own age over an explicit online chat session.

Perry was threatened by the suspects to spread the video online unless they were paid, the report noted.

A BBC report Friday cited detectives who said suspects encouraged him to commit suicide, after which Perry fell from the Forth Bridge in Dunfermline in July 2013.

The suspects, however, denied to BBC's team who tracked them in Manila, having a part in the crime.

"I do know know him," Palacio said.

Bravo also claimed innocence.  "I feel sorry because he left behind a family which loves him," he said.

Scottish authorities are working the suspects' extradition for a UK court to handle the case.