Filipino Maserati driver 'fears for safety' after injuring traffic officer, sparking internet outcry
A Maserati-driving businessman accused of mauling a traffic officer in Manila went on national television to defend himself after he was transformed into an internet villain.
A Maserati-driving businessman accused of mauling a traffic officer in Manila went on national television to defend himself after he was transformed into an internet villain.
Joseph Russel Ingco told evening newscasts on Friday that he felt forced to explain his side of the incident out of safety fears.
Ingco was caught on video holding a traffic officer by his shirt and dragging him along the road out of the window of his blue Maserati Ghibli. The officer had flagged him down for a violation.
The video, shot by a fellow traffic officer, went viral, drawing the ire of the Philippines' vocal Facebook and Twitter mobs, and prompting Manila authorities to put up a reward of 100,000 pesos (HK$17,200) for information on the businessman's whereabouts.
Social-media users vilified Ingco, calling him a "road bully", "liar" and "mauler".
"This shows that social media can be a tool for justice," Francis Tolentino, head of a government body that manages traffic in Manila, said yesterday.
Ingco told GMA television: "I am afraid for my safety. I am willing to face the consequences," he said, stuttering at some points during the interview.
He admitted to punching the traffic officer, but said it was only to loosen his grip on his shirt collar. He claimed the officer punched him too, though he had no visible bruises on his face.
Ingco's victim, Jorbe Adriatico, was to undergo surgery yesterday to repair his broken nose.
"I still couldn't sleep. The incident keeps playing in my head," Adriatico, with a bandaged nose, told ABS-CBN television of his Thursday run-in with Ingco.
Police filed an assault complaint against Ingco before city prosecutors, who will decide whether he is to stand trial.
No arrest warrant had been issued as of yesterday.
Tolentino vouched for the traffic officer's credibility, saying he had so far served an exemplary six years with the traffic bureau and was cited by police for helping arrest offenders.
"I think he's telling the truth. He's a credible guy and we stand by him," he said.
Luxury sports cars such as Maseratis are rare sights in Manila, where narrow, ill-maintained roads breed monstrous gridlock that sometimes sparks incidents of road rage.
