Eleven Philippine policemen appeared at a disciplinary hearing yesterday over a torture video allegedly filmed on a mobile phone at a police station in a Manila slum.
The graphic recording, which has enraged the public since it was broadcast on national television on Tuesday, showed a man in civilian clothes whipping a naked man writhing on a white tiled floor. In between blows, the torturer yanked a rope that appeared to be tied to the victim’s penis.
Chief Superintendent Roberto Rongavilla, head of a police task force investigating the incident, said a formal complaint against the policemen had been read at a police internal affairs hearing.
“These people are now in the custody of the Manila police,” he said.
All 11 men had been posted at the Asuncion community police precinct in the high-crime Manila slum district of Tondo, but were suspended after a public outcry over the video sparked a government investigation.
Rongavilla said the officer featured in the torture video was the former commander of the precinct. Local news reports said he had denied the allegations.
Rongavilla said the naked man was a suspected robber whose wife had reported him missing since March.
“He was part of a group engaged in holdups and bag-snatching,” Rongavilla said. “It appears some other members of the gang had been killed in clashes with the police.”
Local television network ABS-CBN, which broadcast the clip, said an unnamed informant filmed the scene with a mobile phone, but it was unclear when it was taken.
Rongavilla told ABS-CBN that the investigation would also look into allegations that the officer accused of torturing the naked man had committed similar offenses.
“Many people are coming out alleging that their sons and husbands had been given similar treatment,” he added.
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