‘Justice for Kian’: mourners remember Philippine teen shot dead by narcotics police
The death of the 17-year old has drawn huge domestic attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers
More than a thousand mourners attended a funeral procession in the Philippines capital Manila on Saturday for a high school student, whose killing last week by narcotics officers has caused rare public outrage about the country’s war on drugs.
Kian Loyd Delos Santos was dragged by plainclothes policemen to a dark, trash-filled alley in northern Manila, before he was shot in the head and left next to a pigsty, according to witnesses whose accounts appeared to be backed up by CCTV footage.
The death of the 17-year old has drawn huge domestic attention to allegations by activists that police have been systematically executing suspected users and dealers, a charge the authorities deny.
“I came to support the family. I want justice for Kian and all victims – including my son,” said Katherine David, 35, whose 21-year old son was shot dead by police in January.
Mourners, some of them wearing white shirts displaying the words “Justice for Kian,” held flowers and small flags, and placards denouncing the killing, as the procession including vans and motorbikes moved out of Delos Santos’ home in Caloocan city.
Delos Santos’ flower-draped coffin passed slowly through narrow streets on a flat-bed truck with two black and red coloured tarpaulins containing the words “Run, Kian, Run” and “Stop the killings” displayed on each side.
I came to support the family. I want justice for Kian and all victims – including my son
The cortege made a brief stop in front of police precinct where three police officers involved in the killing of Delos Santos were assigned before proceeding to the church.