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image captionChristine Dacera was found dead after a New Year s Eve party
An order has been made to remove a police chief of an affluent area of the Philippine capital, Manila, for his handling of a probe into the suspected rape and murder of an air stewardess.
The case of Christine Dacera, found dead in a hotel room after a New Year s Eve party, made headlines for weeks.
Police quickly said she had been raped and murdered, arresting three men.
But the men have now been released while questions have been raised over officers initial conclusions.
The ordered removal of Makati Police Chief Colonel Harold Depositar is the latest development, and comes in the wake of massive criticism for their handling of the high profile case.
A Philippines police chief has been sacked for claiming an air stewardess was gang-raped and murdered, but her family insist he was telling the truth.
Christine Dacera was found dead in a bathtub at the Garden City Grand Hotel in Makati, Philippines on New Year s Day.
Eleven men were provisionally charged with rape and murder of the 23-year-old PAL Express crew member after police investigations found injuries to her arms and legs and traces of sperm on her body.
But the charges were slapped down by prosecutors who said further investigations including a post-mortem revealed Dacera died from a brain aneurysm.
Gen. Debold Sinas, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has approved the recommendation to relieve the chief of police Makati City and two others over the alleged mishandling of the case of flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera.
SunStar
+ January 20, 2021 PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Debold Sinas has approved the recommendation of the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) to relieve the police personnel involved in the investigation on the death of 23-year-old flight attendant Christine Dacera.
Sinas said the DIDM recommended the relief of Makati police chief Colonel Harold Depositar, two investigators who were the first responders, the medico-legal officer and scene of the crime operatives (Soco) from the Southern Police District pending the conduct of investigation on possible lapses and negligence.
“However the SITG (Special Investigation Task Group) under regional director of NCRPO (National Capital Region Police Office) might need their services (in the ongoing investigation of the case) so kasama pa po sila doon. There is no transfer of documents and evidence on others,” he said.
Photo from Dacera’s Facebook account IT HAD all the elements of the sensational. A young flight attendant had been found unconscious in a posh Maka