Kian tests negative for gun powder

MANILA – More evidence has surfaced to suggest that 17-year-old student Kian Lloyd delos Santos was a victim of a summary execution after a paraffin test found no traces of gunpowder on his hands.

Philippine kational Police Crime Laboratory released yesterday the result of a paraffin test conducted on August 20.

“Qualitative examination conducted on the paraffin cast taken from both hands of the cadaver gave NEGATIVE results to the tests for gunpowder nitrates,” the result read.

“Both hands of the cadaver do not contain gunpowder nitrates,” it added.

Some online supporters of the drug war, including social media personality Sass Rogando Sasot, have tried to explain away how the gun found on Kian was in his left hand when he was right-handed by saying it could have slipped to the other hand.

Based on the after-action report by officers of the Caloocan City police, Delos Santos resisted arrest and fired shots leaving them with no option but to retaliate.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the area, however, suggests Delos Santos was manhandled by police.

The CCTV footage was supported by the accounts of the witnesses who said that Delos Santos was killed by the police officers.

Three cops, identified as Police Officer 3 Arnel Oares, Police Officer 1 Jeremias Pereda and Police Officer 1 Jerwin Cruz, are now under restrictive custody while investigations are ongoing.

The PNP Internal Affairs Service has said that two of the police officers have confirmed that they are the men caught on the CCTV video dragging Kian away.

Examination by the Public Attorney's Office also showed delos Santos sustained three gunshot wounds, one in the back and two through his head. He was shot to death while on the ground based on the trajectory of the bullet coming from a 9-mm gun.

A Senate hearing will be held Thursday to look into the incident, while the National Bureau of Investigation, PNP-Internal Affairs Service and Commission on Human Rights are conducting their separate probes.

PNP Director General Ronald Dela Rosa has also ordered the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to investigate the case.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Saldy Delos Santos, father of Kian Loyd, a 17-year-old Grade 11 student, who was killed allegedly in a shootout with police, comforts his son’s girlfriend at his wake in their house in Caloocan city.