THE PHILIPPINES. 3 COUSINS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KIDNAPPING

three cousins were sentenced to die by lethal injection for abducting a Japanese national in Lanuza town, the Philippines.
In a decision penned by Cantilan Regional Trial Court Judge Romeo Buenaflor, cousins Jovel Apole, Rolando Apole, and Renato Apole, all residents of Surigao del Sur, were found guilty of kidnapping and robbery. The suspects abducted Japanese national Yasumitsu Hashiba, married to Emelie Lopio, a Filipina, on the night of January 23, 2003 in Barangay Bunga, Lanuza.
Besides taking Hashiba, the three also took cash and jewellery from the couple worth P150,000. They demanded P3-million ransom for the release of the victim.
Buenaflor, also known as the "hanging judge of Surigao del Sur," ordered the convicts to pay Hashiba P75,000 as moral and exemplary damages.