OKINAWA RAPE CASE

Nabasa ko itong kaso na ito sa Japan Times a few weeks back pero kanina ko lang nakuha ang ilang detalye>>

On February 15, 2008, “Hazel”, 21 years old, a Filipina arrived in Naha, Okinawa, Japan on a working Visa through the Cinderella Agency. On her first working day (February 17), a U.S. Army soldier of the Patriot anti-Missile (PAC3) troop, offered to show her around town. She went with him.

According to reports, an employee of the New Century Hotel in Okinawa City said that the soldier checked in at the hotel with Hazel at 10 PM of February 17. On February 18, the soldier left the hotel at 9AM, alone.

According to Hazel’s mother, Hazel recounted that after she was raped and left bleeding, she crawled out of the hotel room to seek help. An unidentified male helped “Hazel” and took her to a local hospital where she was treated for serious bleeding. Hazel was hospitalized for a week but her injuries took three weeks to heal.

On March 3, the RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT TO THE FILIPINA ALLEGED TO HAVE BEEN RAPED BY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER IN OKINAWA, JAPAN, authored by Rep. Cynthia Villar was adopted by the 14^th Philippine Congress. (Please see attached file)

On April 10, it was reported that the case has not been submitted to the prosecution for preliminary investigation. The Japan police have neither set a deadline for submission of the results of the investigation to the prosecution.

Okinawa police sent the police report of the crime of rape resulting to injuries to the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office only after April 10. Between April 10 and May 16, Hazel was asked to appear at the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office three times.

According to DFA officials, the preliminary investigation was still on-going, they have facilitated the visit of Hazel’s father to Okinawa and that they will continue to monitor the case. According to Hazel’s family, their father went to Okinawa for three days last March and only saw Hazel for brief moments.

Meanwhile, the soldier told the Japanese investigators that he paid Hazel for sex at the Hotel New Century in Okinawa City. On May 16, Prosecutor’s office dropped the charges, after preliminary investigation, claiming that there was insufficient evidence of use of “violence and intimidation” to prove that the crime of rape was committed.

In the morning of May 24, 2008, about 60 Filipinos and other locals of Okinawa, led by Father Romes Cruz of Yomitan Catholic Church, marched in front of the Torii Station of U.S. forces, a U.S. military base, near the village of Yomitan. Hazel took part in the action and tearfully said, "I am here to tell the truth, I am not telling a lie." 行進は、事件に抗議し、同様の不祥事が起こらないことを願って、読谷カトリック教会のロメス・クルス神父が中心となって呼び掛けた。

While other alleged crimes in Okinawa involving people connected with the US embassy in Okinawa have resulted in a flood of front page stories in the local press, the local police and military officials have said little about Hazel’s case.

On May 30, a news report claimed Hazel has complained that the DFA has abandoned her case.

>> Pupunta ang ilang legislators sa Okinawa next week para kumuha ng mas maraming impormasyon. Sa ngayon kasi, mga tawag lang sa telepono ang kayang gawin ng pamilya. At ang balita namin, ni walang kopya ng kasong isinampa ang biktima mismo kaya madaling paniwalaan na ni walang kaide-ideya si hazel kung anong kaso ang na-dismiss. hay, hay, hay-bu.