MANILA, Philippines — Police have rescued two Chinese nationals who were allegedly kidnapped by six suspects including the owner of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) company they were working for and some Chinese men in San Pedro, Laguna province.
Col. Rodolfo Castil Jr., officer-in-charge of the Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG), in a press statement on Tuesday, identified the victims as Li Fei Yu and Long Yong Lin.
According to Castil, the victims arrived in the country on November 13 to work as computer technicians for a Pogo company based in Laguna.
He said they were fetched by a Filipino driver identified as Ariel Carmona and brought to the office of the company where they met its owner Jack Chan, a Mexican national.
Citing Li’s sworn statement, Castil said the victims decided to resign after nine days of working in the Pogo center and go back to China due to long hours of duty.
The police official said Chan knew of this plan, which supposedly prompted the alleged kidnapping of the victims.
On November 22, the victims were forced to board a car and were brought to a house in San Pablo where they were allegedly beaten up and taken to separate rooms, according to police.
Castil said the victims were also allegedly handcuffed by Carmona and guarded by Chinese men. A certain Chen Kai En also allegedly took Li Fei Yu’s cellphone.
En then allegedly forced Yu to contact his family in China and ask 520,000 Chinese Yuan (around P3.7 million) in exchange for his release. Castil said the alleged kidnappers threatened Yu to give them the cash until November 25 or they will break his leg and kill him.
“That is their policy according to Mr. Chen Kai En if they cannot finish six months contract,” said the PNP-AKG official.
This threat prompted Yu’s father to send on November 23 22,000 Chinese Yuan (around P150,000) to a certain Yang Li through a cash transfer in a bank for his son’s freedom.
Castil said the police learned of the kidnapping after the caretaker of the company tipped them off that the victims were being detained.
Operatives of the PNP-AKG then launched an operation on November 24, which led to the rescue of the victims and the arrest of three Chinese nationals identified as Chen Kai En, Wang Jian Xiong, and Mei Lin, and Carmona.
Police also conducted a follow-up operation on the same day in Cabuyao City and arrested Chan and another Chinese national named Ruohuang Chen, who was allegedly one of those who guarded the victims when they were detained.
The suspects are now at the PNP-AKG office at Camp Crame.
Castil said a case of kidnapping for ransom with serious illegal detention was filed against the six suspects before the Department of Justice on November 25.