The headline-writer is very up-to-date: He/she must have thought: “Hmm, the lead says ‘almost tagged a suspect’; but we cannot use ‘near-suspect’, or ‘almost suspect’, or ‘ex-future suspect’…”
“Person of interest” is what U.S. police officers use to refer to those who are/ were included in the investigation but not officially considered a suspect; and it’s what American news agencies also use, quoting law-enforcement agencies, to protect themselves from any suit (the word “suspect” has derogatory connotation.) The term has found itself in certain U.S. criminal statutes: “Person in interest shall mean the person who is the primary subject of a criminal justice record”.
Although… I think this is still journalese or legalese or policelese/ coplese, so some journalists put it in quotes, in the same way as “LPA” or “low pressure area” is weatherlese… Now, how to translate that to Filipino… “taong may interes”? “taong pinag-iinteresan”, “taong kamuntik nang pagsuspetsahan”, “taong pwede pang pagsuspetsahan”?… take your pick.
Newspeg (from DZMM): The couple who allegedly maltreated their househelp, Bonita Baran, resulting in her disfigurement and blindness, and who are now detained on charges of serious illegal detention, will be arraigned on Monday.
The pertinent legal provisions are as follows:
“Revised Penal Code. Art. 267. Kidnapping and serious illegal detention. – Any private individual who shall kidnap or detain another or in any manner deprive him of his liberty shall suffer the penalty of reclusionperpetua to death:
“1.If the kidnapping or detention shall have lasted more than five days.
“2.If it shall have been committed simulating public authority.
“3. If any serious physical injuries shall have been inflicted upon the person kidnapped or detained; or if threats to kill him shall have been made.
“4.If the person kidnapped shall be a minor, female, or public officer.
“The penalty shall be death where the kidnapping or detention was committed for the purpose of extorting ransom from the victim or any other person, even if none of the circumstances abovementioned were present in the commission of the offense.”
Bonita Baran said that there were instances when the couple locked her up. The charge is therefore based on the fourth paragraph (Art. 267, par.4), where locking up of a female, or detaining, or holding her against her will, for any length of time, already constitutes the crime serious illegal detention.
“Art. 267 was taken from… the old Penal Code. The Spanish version uses the terms “lock up” (“encerrar”) rather than “kidnap” (“sequestrar or raprar). Locking up is included in the broader term of detention, which refers not only to the placing of a person in an enclosure which he cannot leave, but also to any other deprivation of liberty which does not involve locking up” (Justice Ramon Aquino, Revised Penal Code, citing Groizard and Cuello Calon cited in Marasigan and Robles, CA 55 O.G. 8297)
