FROM accuser to accused.
Police turned the tables on a 24-year-old businesswoman who accused a policeman assigned to the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG)聽 of extorting money from her in exchange for the release of her impounded vehicle.
The HPG filed a string of complaints against Jane Catherine O, who was flagged down last Oct. 10 in barangay Mabolo in Cebu City while driving a Nissan X-trail SUV as the vehicle鈥檚聽 registration had expired.
O claimed that SPO1 Aldrin Gulingan of the HPG demanded P200,000 cash from her in exchange for the release of her vehicle.
Gulingan denied the accusation.
Aside from O, also charged was Chris Reinz, whose name appeared as the owner of the聽 vehicle.
The complaints were filed before the Cebu City Prosecutor鈥檚 Office last Monday.
O and Reinz are facing complaints for violating the Anti-fencing law, carnapping, and illegal transfer of vehicle license plate numbers.
Senior Insp. Hoselito Lerion, chief of the Intelligence Division of the HPG-7, said聽 the vehicle鈥檚 chassis and engine numbers were also found to have聽 been tampered.
Lerion said they traced the vehicle鈥檚 registered owner as聽 Frederick Pepito Matta who had reported to the police that the vehicle was stolen in聽 Dec. 27, 2006 by an armed man聽 in Quezon City.
Lerion said O has yet to make good her threat to file charges against Gulingan.
鈥淭here was no extortion because O did not give a statement right after our team flagged her down. When our team informed her that her registration had already expired, she told us to talk to her lawyer,鈥� Lerion said.
Lerion also advised the public to be cautious when buying second-hand vehicles./CORRESPONDENT CHRISTINE EMILY L. PANTALEON