Body of killed Pinoy on Saipan back in RP

SAN VICENTE, Saipan – The body of a Filipino contract worker who was killed in a hit-and-run accident on Saipan Island last May 4 was repatriated to the Philippines Thursday morning, but nobody has so far been arrested in connection with his death.

Grande Nonan, 41, suffered head trauma and extensive lacerations in his upper and lower body when he was hit by a sport utility vehicle past 3 a.m. on May 4.

Filipino workers who held a vigil in support of a new law signed by President Bush putting the CNMI immigration under federal control also called for justice for Nonan.

“Justice for Grandy Nonan" read one of the red banners held by the guest workers.

Police have yet to arrest a suspect in the case.

A group called Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone with information leading to the arrest of a suspect.

The last of a 10-night Rosary and Holy Mass were held on Wednesday night for Nonan by the Teregeyo family members who became his friends and employer for 12 years.

The Teregeyos brought Nonan’s remains to the Saipan international airport Thursday morning for repatriation to the Philippines.

CNMI resident Marianne Teregeyo told GMANews.TV that Nonan was a “family friend," adding that it was “sad to see a good friend return home that way."

“There are times when I ask Grande to scare his assailant, and then there are times when I say ‘God will take care of it’," Teregeyo wrote in her blog.

Nonan was also described as a jack-of-all-trades, having helped everyone in the Teregeyo family and the extended family with household chores, including bush cutting.

“The driver was a coward and a great sinner, just leaving Grande to die. I hope he or she [is] caught. I pray that Grande would whisper to his or her assailant's ears and haunt them so that they can surrender," Teregeyo said in an earlier blog.

On May 9, the Teregeyo family also sold hot lunches to help raise funds for the repatriation of Nonan’s body.

According to a female witness, Nonan was walking uphill using the eastbound shoulder of a road when a sport utility vehicle ran off the highway, hitting Nonan.

The witness, who was walking several feet behind Nonan, was saved from being hit by the speeding vehicle because she was able to dart toward a fence line. The vehicle fled from the scene after hitting Nonan.

Nonan is the third traffic fatality so far this year in the CNMI, where there are about 10,000 documented contract workers from the Philippines. - Haidee Eugenio, GMANews.TV

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