Jee killed to send message to online gambling operators, Bato says

The killing of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo was meant to send a message to operators of online gaming at the Mimosa in Clark, Pampanga, PNP chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa told reporters on Friday.

Dela Rosa said Jee didn't want to give money to corrupt members of the National Bureau of Investigation, something that didn't sit well with the alleged unscrupulous law enforcers.

The PNP chief said the information came from both PNP and NBI investigators.

“I don't want to preempt the reinvestigation pero, as of now, the information that we received coming from the PNP side and from the NBI side, regular na nagbibigay ng pera iyong mga nasa online gaming doon sa mga tiwaling opisyal ng NBI,” Dela Rosa said.

“Then itong si Jee Ick Joo ay matinong tao, ayaw magbigay. Kaya gustong bigyan ng leksyon para yung ibang Koreans na involved sa online gaming diyan sa may Mimosa, matakot na para magbigay," he added.

He said SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel of the PNP-Anti-Illegal Drugs Group was engaged to make it appear that Jee was involved in illegal drugs.

"Ginamit yung si Sta. Isabel para palabasin na anti-drug operations,” Dela Rosa said.

He said Sta. Isabel went to the PNP Firing Range to prepare the firearm that will be used to set up Jee.

Dela Rosa said one of the plans of Sta. Isabel’s group was to bring Jee to the Quezon City Circle where the Korean would supposedly be arrested for selling illegal drugs.

He said the firearms and empty shells would then be planted to make it appear that Jee fought it out with the police.

“Jinustify pa ni Sta. Isabel ‘yung presence n’ya sa Training Service na wala daw doon siya sa oras na ‘yun, nasa Firing Range daw siya nagpapaputok," Dela Rosa said.

"‘Yun pala yung pinapaputok niya na baril iyon pala iyong balak niyang itanim doon kay Jee Ick Joo just in case mag-materialize ‘yung plano nila na buy-bust operation kuno doon sa Quezon City Circle hindi ba. Iyong baril na pinutok at empty shell yun ang gagamitin nya,” he added. —NB, GMA News