Cellphones given to HK police by mistake back with Manila officials

Three mobile phones mistakenly handed to Hong Kong police after the hostage tragedy are back in the hands of Manila authorities as five Philippine law enforcers arrived in Hong Kong yesterday to investigate the tour bus hijacking.

One of the three mobile phones contains the SIM card of hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza, a policeman told an inquiry into the shootings yesterday.

Eight Hong Kong people were gunned down by Mendoza, who was then killed in the August 23 tragedy.

Junior policeman Denison Rivera said he agreed to lend his phone when assistant negotiator Romeo Salvador told him that the battery of the bus driver's mobile had run down. This was the phone initially used by police negotiators to contact Mendoza. 'At that time, the unit [of bus driver Alberto Lubang] was the only one being used. I removed my SIM card and it was replaced by the SIM card of Mendoza,' Rivera said.

Lourdes Amansec, the assistant general manager of Direction Travel and Tours, which owns the tour bus, said the other two phones belonged to the Filipino bus driver and to a Filipino photographer who accompanied the tour group.

As part of the Philippines' investigation into the incident, assistant state prosecutor Cielito Celi, police Senior Superintendent Lorlie Nilo Arroyo, police Superintendent Reynaldo Dimalanta de Guzman, National Bureau of Investigation head agent Danielito Lalusis and the bureau's ballistics expert Perla Landicho flew to Hong Kong yesterday.

Philippine Justice Secretary Leila De Lima signed an authorisation for them to travel to Hong Kong from Sunday to Friday of this week.