A Hong Kong inquest was told that Philippine snipers were not ordered to shoot the gunman in last year's hostage crisis in Manila, a Hong Kong-based online news agency reported.
According to a news article of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) on Monday, at least three snipers had a clear shot at a dismissed senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza but they were never ordered to shoot him.
Even if the snipers were ordered to fire at the hostage-taker, one sniper said he would not have complied, the RTHK news article said.
The article did not specify if the sniper's statement was taken from a Philippine Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) report.
The Hong Kong court is currently holding an inquest to investigate the hostage-taking crisis on August 23 last year when Mendoza held hostage in Manila a bus with Hong Kong tourists.
At the end of an 11-hour standoff, eight Chinese tourists from Hong Kong were killed along with the hostage-taker.
The Hong Kong inquest had invited more than 100 Filipino witnesses but most of them had declined to testify in Hong Kong.
In earlier hearings, the Hong Kong inquest had heard that Mendoza initially had no intention to harm the hostages but became angry when he saw on a television monitor that his brother was being arrested.
The survivors of the tragedy also testified they had planned to overpower Mendoza or snatch his firearm, but neither of the plans materialized.
Injured teen hostage
Meanwhile, also on Monday, the inquest heard that Jason Leung, the teenager who suffered serious head injuries during the hostage crisis may have been shot.
"There had been speculation that he was hit by a police sledge hammer from outside the vehicle during a botched rescue operation," a separate RTHK report said. – VVP
