A 72-year-old Japanese national was found dead and with his hands and feet tied with a masking tape in his rented house in Barangay Yati, Liloan, Cebu early on Saturday morning, November 25, 2023. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Police in Liloan, Cebu are investigating the death of a 72-year-old Japanese national who was found in his bedroom with head injuries and with his hands and feet tied with a masking tape.
Police Major Eric Gingoyon, chief of the Liloan Police Station, said they do not discount the possibility of a robbery in the death of Doug Hiroshi Sugawara, but they are also looking at other possible motives.
Gingoyon said the victim’s body will also be subjected to an autopsy to determine the actual cause of his death.
The Japanese national came from the United States of America. He rented a house in a subdivision Barangay Yati, Liloan town with his elderly mother after he married his Filipina wife in April 2023.
His wife, Roxan Mandokita-Sugawara, a native of Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental, said they planned to stay at their rented place for only eight months or until December 2023.
And while they are now married, Sugawara would still prefer to sleep alone, the reason why they occupy different bedrooms.
Roxan, 30, told the police that she went to her husbands room at around 6:05 a.m. on Saturday to check on him.
She found the bedroom door unlocked while her husband was on the floor with his hands and feet tied with a masking tape. She also saw blood coming from his head.
Missing sling bag
Gingoyon said they are looking at the possibility that Sugawara was robbed after Roxan told the police that her sling bag which contained her wallet with P1, 200 cash and assorted ID cards, went missing.
But Gingoyon said they are yet to determine why the suspect or suspects only barged into the Japanese national’s bedroom.
Police are also trying to determine what else were stolen aside from Roxan’s sling bag.
Gingoyon said they will be checking closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from nearby establishment for leads on the identity of the suspect/s.
He said that they will also have to speak to Roxan again to get more information from her.
During their initial talk on Saturday, Roxan told the police that she did not notice any commotion from her husband’s bedroom Friday night until early morning on Saturday.
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