Gun ban measures fail to prevent murder of trader in San Juan

MANILA, Philippines — In yet another defiance of the gun ban, unidentified hit men shot dead a Chinese-Filipino businessman in plain daylight on Monday in San Juan City, bolstering claims that the ban may not be enough to prevent election-related violence in the country.

Senior Superintendent Bernardo Tambaoan, officer in charge of the local police, identified the victim as Kelvin (and not Sheldon as in a previous report) Tan, 34.

Tan was the owner of KT Builders, a company engaged in construction, Tambaoan said.

According to Tambaoan, Tan had just boarded his Toyota Altis, with plate number POZ-789, on Ortigas Ave. cor. Madison St. when the shooting happened between 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.

Tambaoan, citing witnesses’ accounts, said the victim had just withdrawn around P800,000 from Chinabank when a tall man wearing a purple “barong” approached his vehicle and fired at him. Tan was dead on the spot.

The gunman, meanwhile, fled with his alleged cohort on board a motorcycle that had been parked just across the crime scene.  The two escaped toward Quezon City.

While five empty shells of a .45 cal. pistol were found in the scene, Tambaoan said  the number of gunshot wounds the victim sustained was still unclear.

Asked if the gunmen were able to get the money, Tambaoan said, based on initial information gathered by the police, the victim had managed to hand over the money to the bodyguard of his friend, Benedict Tan, prior to the attack, making it impossible for the hit men to get a hold of it.

He was quick to add that details on this were sketchy as of Monday afternoon, adding that it was also unclear whether the bodyguard, who has yet to be identified, and the victim, arrived together at the bank.

Police have not found the bodyguard to get his statement, Tambaoan said.

Relatives of the victim, meanwhile, have also yet to give their statements to police.

While it was possible the gunmen merely intended to rob the victim, police said they were also looking at the possibility the killing was business-related.