MANILA: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte apologized to South Korea on Thursday after policemen killed one of its citizens, then said he wanted to hang rogue police and send their heads to Seoul.
He called again for the death penalty to be reinstated so that he could hang 20 criminals a day.
Duterte promised the toughest punishment for those behind the kidnapping and killing of businessman Jee Ick-joo inside the national police headquarters in October.
“I will see to it that they are sentenced to the maximum,” he said of the policemen. “You give that power to me back again, I will execute them… I’ll hang them in one day, 20 of them – 20 a day. “
He added: “You sons of bitches, you policemen. You will suffer. I can maybe send your heads to South Korea. “
The death of the South Korean comes as the Philippine police face growing criticism from rights groups and some lawmakers, who say cover-ups and abuses of police power are rampant.
