Abduction of Cebu Coed a Hoax

The claims of a female college student that she was kidnapped on Monday was all made up.

Carbon Police Station chief Jacinto Mandal, whose jurisdiction included the vicinity of the Cebu Eastern College (CEC) where the alleged abduction occurred, on Tuesday said the 21-year-old working student of a local university made up the story because of money problems.

Cebu City Police Office Director Joel Doria, meanwhile, ordered the filing of a criminal case against the student.

Mandal said the student confessed that she allegedly lost the Php4,000 books sales entrusted to her by their dean and she needed money to replenish the amount. But Mandal believed the student did not really lose the money but had actually spent it for personal use.

Police investigation revealed that the fake kidnap victim had earlier tried to borrow money from a classmate claiming that her father in Leyte was sick and needed financial help for his medication, which also turned out to be a lie.

The father was not sick and Mandal believed the student lied as she was already desperate to replenish the money she had spent.

Her very concerned father and mother arrived from Leyte early Tuesday dawn only to find out about the truth.

On Monday morning, the student was reported to have been kidnapped by three unidentified foreigners and two Filipinos while on her way to school along Leon Kilat Streeet near the CEC campus.

Her brother sought the help of the police after receiving text messages from the fake victim that she was forced inside a van with plate number PMQ 128.

However, when police went to investigate the area, they found no trace of a commotion and suspected that no kidnapping had ever taken place.

Investigators also traced the plate number, which is registered to a Toyota Fortuner owned by a woman based in Caloocan City.

As communication through text and Facebook messenger between the student and her elder sister continued despite the alleged abduction, Mandal said he instructed the older sister to tell the student to come home because they already knew about her problem and that she was already forgiven.

Around 8 p.m. Monday, the student was found in northern Liloan town where she sought help from a resident in Barangay Jubay as she claimed to have escaped from her kidnappers.

But during the interrogation, the student admitted that she was never kidnapped. She confessed that she was just roaming around the city the whole time and took a passenger jeepney to Liloan later in the afternoon of Monday.

The family of the student made a public apology on Tuesday, especially to the parents who were worried over the incident.

They said they never thought the student could do such a thing as she was a responsible daughter and very active in church activities. (With reports from Michelle Bugtai/PNA)