Guard takes woman, 3 kids hostage

MANILA, Philippines — A drunk security guard was arrested for taking a woman and her three toddlers hostage in Port Area, Manila on Thursday.

Justine Acosta Sagun, 33, was drinking with other guards on an upper floor of a residential building in Baseco Compound when he became restless and went down to the second floor and barged into a unit at past 10:30 a.m., according to Manila Police District (MPD) spokesman Maj. Philipp Ines.

The unit was occupied by the woman, 31, and her children aged five, two and one.

Upon receiving a report on the incident, police officers from the MPD’s Baseco station, mobile force battalion and special weapons and tactics unit launched an operation to rescue the victims.

Lt. Col. Emmanuel Gomez, Baseco station commander, tried to get Sagun, who was clad only in red shorts, to calm down. When Sagun let his guard down, Gomez grabbed him by the neck, signaling the other police officers to subdue and arrest the suspect.

Police confiscated a 10-inch tactical folding knife Sagun had reportedly used to take the woman and her children hostage.

Sagun would be charged with violating Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, and slight illegal detention and illegal possession of deadly weapon, acting MPD chief Col. Arnold Thomas Ibay said.

Sagun apologized for the incident, according to a report on GMA News.