MANILA, Philippines – Model Deniece Cornejo made a shallow cut on her left wrist while in detention to protest the dismissal of the rape complaint she filed against TV host and actor Vhong Navarro.
The Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group clarified that the incident was not a suicide attempt.
“According to her lawyer, it was intentional and a sign of protest against the Taguig City prosecutors’ office junking her second rape complaint versus Navarro,” said Chief Inspector Elizabeth Jasmin, CIDG spokesperson.
The wound was shallow and not serious, only a scratch, Jasmin said, adding that Cornejo was not even brought out of her detention cell at the CIDG.
The incident allegedly happened at around 3 a.m. Sunday while the restless model was unable to sleep.
Quoting initial reports, Jasmin said Cornejo picked up a metal bottle cap and allegedly used it to wound her left wrist, leaving a shallow cut far away from the pulse point.
“She was apparently dismayed that her second complaint was dismissed,” the police official said.
Earlier, the Taguig City prosecutor’s office junked her case against Navarro, citing lack of probable cause for the allegations that he raped her in her condominium unit on the night of Jan. 17.
Her first complaint – stemming from a Jan. 22 incident during which Navarro was mauled by Cornejo’s friends – was dismissed by the Department of Justice in April.
Cornejo is detained at the CIDG office in Camp Crame for the serious illegal detention and grave coercion that Navarro filed against her and businessman Cedric Lee and several others.
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