Philippine police under microscope after ‘rape-slay’ case of flight attendant falls apart

The death of a 23-year-old flight attendant during a New Year’s Eve party received national attention after police threatened to hunt down ‘suspects’

But the case unravelled after an autopsy showed she had died of an aneurysm – and after it was revealed the men she had partied with were gay

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Philippine National Police director general Debold Sinas, left, warned the supposed suspects in the case of Christine Dacera to “surrender within 72 hours or we will hunt you down using force if necessary”. Photo: Twitter

Published: 9:01pm, 12 Jan 2021Updated: 9:33pm, 12 Jan 2021

The botched investigation into the death of a Filipino flight attendant during a New Year’s Eve party has sparked accusations of police incompetence in a case that has gripped public attention, fuelling outrage against a force that has become notorious under the government of President Rodrigo Duterte for summarily arresting and in some cases shooting to death people who have been implicated in crimes without being properly investigated.

The Makati City police in Metro Manila investigating the case at first announced that the victim, Christine Dacera, 23, had been drugged, raped and murdered by her companions as they partied overnight at the City Garden Hotel, violating Covid-19 quarantine restrictions.

The crime was considered so heinous that Manny Pacquiao, the former world champion boxer who is now a Philippine senator, offered a reward of 500,000 Philippine pesos (US$10,400) to anyone who caught the suspects. A congressman, Eric Yap, chipped in with his own bounty of 100,000 pesos.

Filipino boxer and senator Manny Pacquiao had offered 500,000 pesos for the capture of the alleged suspects in the case. Photo: Reuters

Dacera, who had been celebrating with at least 12 men was brought to a hospital on New Year’s Day by three of her friends, who said they had found her lying unconscious in a hotel bathtub. She was later pronounced dead.

On January 4, the Philippine National Police issued a statement announcing that they had solved what they termed a “rape-slay” and had arrested three of the 12 men.

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