Philippines police probe Kiwi's sex slavery story

Mary Jones. Photo / Natalie Slade

Police in the Philippines are investigating claims by a New Zealand woman that she was abducted and forced into prostitution.

Iloilo City police director Marietto Valerio told the Daily Guardian investigators had interviewed the man behind the alleged abduction, Mark David Dudoit.

Mary Elizabeth Jones, 39, was standing by her story yesterday, although she admitted there might have been confusion over exact dates and places because of the trauma she suffered after being "locked up in a tiny room" for months this year.

"No one else has the right to tell me what did or did not happen."

The Herald reported last week that the United States Embassy in Manila confirmed it had helped Ms Jones after sighting documents from the Haven National Centre for Women, a shelter run by the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development for sexually abused women and victims of human trafficking.

Both cited privacy reasons for refusing to disclose details of the case.

Dudoit told police he was forced to take Ms Jones to a mental institution after she started acting strangely when he refused her marriage proposal.

"Maybe her friend was turned off with her because of her age and heft and refused her proposal to marry him," Mr Valerio told the newspaper.

Mr Valerio could not be contacted yesterday but the Herald understands the Philippine police have not spoken with Ms Jones.

ABS-CBNNews.com reported there had been discrepancies over how long she had been in the Philippines, with immigration records showing she had been there for two months, between February 3 and April 12, not five months as claimed.

Ms Jones told the Herald yesterday she could no longer take the "continuing harassment" online and via phone calls.

She said she did not ask her alleged abductor to marry her nor did she receive help from any mental institution in the Philippines.