Pinoy lawyer nabbed for alleged role in death of university instructor in Canada

BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada - A Filipino lawyer was arrested in Canada for his alleged role in the death of a Canadian university instructor.

The suspect was identified as Rogelio "Butch" Bagabuyo, 54.

Authorities filed a charge of interfering with human remains against Bagabuyo.

The suspect has been released after the court allowed him to post bail.

He did not issue any statement.

The case stemmed from the killing of Mohd Abdullah, 60, who has been teaching for 21 years at Thompson Riverside University in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Abdullah was reported missing since March 11, according to a report on GMA News' Unang Balita on Monday.

His body was later found slid inside a plastic bin left in an abandoned van on Monterey Place in Kamloops.

The Kamloops British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that the victim was killed but it did not release further details.

The victim's daughter, Sarah Jeet Lalata-Buco, said her father and the suspect were close friends. The suspect, as lawyer, was reportedly the one assisting the victim in drafting his last will and testament.

Buco said the suspect also knew about the assets and properties of her father.

Buco, who is based in Pangasinan, is coordinating with the Canadian Embassy for assistance.

Her family could not accept the tragic fate that befell her father.

Buco told GMA News that she last saw her father in 2017 in the Philippines before the latter left for Canada.

She said her mother Florentina met her father in Singapore. Florentina was then working as a domestic helper while Abdullah was working as a private tutor.

Buco said her mother chose to stay in the Philippines with her and did not join her father in Canada.

Buco is seeking the help of the Department of Foreign Affairs in attending to the remains of the victim in Canada. —KG, GMA News