Five Chinese men and their Filipino accomplice were nabbed by the Laguna police on Monday night after allegedly kidnapping another Chinese national in exchange for ransom.
ABS-CBN News reported that the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) identified the arrested suspects as Wu Guoxing, Wu Liang, Sun Yazhou, Hou Zhau Zhou, and Haichao Lin. Lin was identified as the mastermind behind the alleged kidnapping. The Filipino accomplice has yet to be identified.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer identified the victim as Si Yuxiang. According to the authorities, Si was playing in a casino hotel in Pasay City. When he lost his money, a loan shark syndicate reportedly loaned him money to enable him to play.
He was allegedly abducted and tortured by the suspects after he lost the money which was loaned to him.
Si was reportedly kidnapped by the suspects on Friday and was tortured in a video sent to his relatives in China to demand ransom money in exchange for his freedom. He was allegedly hit several times with a belt.
Si’s family reportedly gave the suspects PHP280,000 (US$5,229.70) for his release, however, the kidnappers demanded PHP150,000 (US$2,801.62) more, prompting the family to seek help from authorities.
The foreign ministry in China then coordinated with the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, which tipped the PNP-AKG of the second pay-off.
On Monday night, police set an entrapment operation to nab the suspects. Senior Supt. Glenn Dumlao, the director of the PNP-AKG, told The Philippine Daily Inquirer that the kidnappers were arrested in a warehouse in Laguna.
Recovered from the suspects were guns, tasers, and handcuffs.
The authorities will file kidnap-for-ransom charges against the suspects.
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