‘Brains’ in Subic trader’s slay caught in Malaysia
Dominic Sytin —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO; Alan Dennis Sytin —PHOTO FROM DENNIS SYTIN FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines — More than six years after a businessman was shot dead in Subic, Zambales, in 2018, his younger brother—who had been identified by the gunman as the mastermind—was arrested in Selangor, Malaysia, on March 22.
In a statement on Thursday, Central Luzon police director Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said that Alan Dennis Sytin, the third-most wanted person in the region, was arrested by the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) at the Cobra Rugby Club in Malaysia.
“Sytin, who carried a P10-million bounty on his head, was the alleged mastermind behind the 2018 murder of his brother, Dominic Sytin, the president and founder of United Auctioneers Inc. (UAI),” Fajardo said.
“Efforts are now underway to facilitate Sytin’s immediate repatriation to the Philippines, where he will face legal proceedings,” she added.
According to Fajardo, the operation resulting in the suspect’s arrest “highlights the power of international cooperation in bringing fugitives to justice. It sends a strong message that no one can escape accountability, no matter where they flee.”
The Central Luzon police earlier sought assistance from the Office of the Police Attaché in Malaysia, which coordinated closely with the RMP to track down Alan Dennis.
Second suspect nabbed
His supposed accomplice, identified as Edrian Rementilla, whose real name is “Oliver Fuentes,” was likewise arrested on March 22 in Iligan City, the Philippine National Police said in a separate statement. He has a P4-million bounty on his head.
Rementilla has since been transferred to the Central Luzon police headquarters in Pampanga, where he will undergo arraignment and pretrial for murder and frustrated murder charges.
Dominic, the UAI founder and chief executive officer, was killed after he was shot in the head, chest and foot by a man who waited for him in front of a hotel at the Subic Freeport on Nov. 28, 2018. His brother was the company’s chief operating officer, while Rementilla used to work for the victim until, according to the PNP, he was fired for allegedly embezzling company funds.
Tip from witness
In March 2019, authorities arrested Edgardo Luib in Batangas after a witness provided a lead on his identity.
During Luib’s arrest, police seized three firearms, including the .45-caliber pistol that, according to ballistics examination, matched two slugs and nine of 13 bullet casings found at the scene where Dominic was shot dead.
On Nov. 20, 2019, the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court Branch 72 found Luib guilty of Dominic’s murder and sentenced him to up to 40 years in prison. He was also convicted of frustrated murder for the injuries suffered by the victim’s bodyguard, Efren Espartero, and received an additional jail sentence of six years and one day to a maximum reclusion temporal (12 years and one day to 20 years).
Luib earlier pleaded guilty to the charges and told the court that Rementilla had introduced him to Alan Dennis, who hired him to kill his brother.
He testified during the trial that Dominic had refused to give his brother his share in their company, which is engaged in importing secondhand vehicles and heavy equipment.
In a counteraffidavit filed with the Department of Justice during the preliminary investigation for the murder charge he was facing, Alan Dennis denied the allegations against him, claiming that Luib’s confession was motivated by self-preservation, adding that the gunman was protecting Rementilla, his childhood friend. —WITH INQUIRER RESEARCH
