CEBU CITY—Police are on the hunt for 10 armed men who broke into the office of a get-rich-quick scheme religious firm and took cash and belongings from its employees before setting fire to the building.
The suspects were also said to have taken a vault, but police were still checking this.
Police Capt. Ian Macatangay, police chief of Compostela town, Cebu province, said 21 employees of Kapa (Kabus Padatoon) Community Ministry International who had been living in the building lost belongings including mobile phones, laptops and cash.
Macatangay said some of the employees reported that a vault had been taken by the armed men, too, but police were still verifying it as a vault was still found in the burnt building that housed the Kapa office.
Macatangay said investigators were checking if there were two vaults in the Kapa office.
Kapa became controversial after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to shut it down for pulling off a get-rich-quick scam on unsuspecting victims.
Fire fighters in Compostela town recorded a fire alarm for the building past 1 a.m.
Witnesses were quoted as saying flames spread quickly in the building because the armed suspects poured gasoline all over the area.
Police were also securing a security camera that captured images of the suspects, who wore masks.
Macatangay said some Kapa leaders had suspected the attack might be related to the group’s finances and the suspects could be disgruntled officers or members.
Kapa Padatoon is Cebuano for “Making the poor rich.”
According to earlier Inquirer.net reports, Kapa is a religious corporation based in Surigao del Sur that solicits investments from members, who are encouraged to “donate” any amount in exchange for a monthly profit of 30 percent.
The Securities and Exchange Commission in March issued an order to Kapa to stop carrying out its investment scheme, which Duterte said was plain “pyramiding.” (Editor: Tony Bergonia)