Watch more News on iWantTFC

MANILA — Three officers of the Zamboanga City police were relieved from their posts following the death of a waiter under their custody, its chief said Wednesday.

The 3 police officers are being investigated by the Philippine National Police's Regional Internal Affairs Service (RIAS) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Zamboanga City police chief Col. Alexander Lorenzo told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

Lorenzo said RIAS has obtained a copy of the autopsy on the corpse of Reynaldo Paragas Jr., a waiter who died while being escorted by police following an altercation with a retired police major at the bar where he was working.

"Ang otopsiya, iyon po ang pinagbabasehan ng RIAS, based po doon sa natamong mga bruises at mga bukol ay iyon na po ang tinitingnan... Kasi ang nakuha lang po na CCTV camera ay doon lamang po sa isang restaurant at malayong lugar po to, nasa malayong barangay sa Zamboanga City," he added.

(The RIAS is now looking at the victim's bruises and injuries and basing their investigation on the autopsy results on his corpse. Up until then, the only available evidence was footage from a CCTV camera in the restaurant, which is in a remote barangay in Zamboanga City.)

The incident stemmed from a brawl between Paragas and a retired police major identified only as a certain "Cuartocruz."

Lorenzo said Cuartocruz, a stroke victim, was persistently asking Paragas to serve him beer, even if he was advised against doing so by his fellow retired officer and his son.

Paragas refused Cuartocruz's requests, resulting in a heated argument that later allegedly escalated into a fistfight.

Officers had told Paragas' kin that the victim had died after jumping out of a police car following the brawl.

But Paragas' relative "Cecilia," quoting a doctor, told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo on Tuesday that the victim might have been hit by a "hard object" based on his head injuries.

"Cecilia" further alleged that when Cuartocruz learned Paragas was dead, he immediately went to where the waiter's remains were found and said "buti nga sa iyo" (serves you right).

"Hindi namin alam kung paano makuha ang hustisya," she said.

(We don't know where to get justice.)

Lorenzo said that as of Wednesday, the 3 police officers were already under the PNP's administrative custody while the investigation on Paragas' death was ongoing.