Police tagged the husband of kidnapped woman and his friend as “persons of interest” in the Makati City abduction case that went viral on social media on Monday night.
Major Gideon Ines Jr., Makati Police Investigation Unit chief, said Chen Tangbin, the husband of kidnapped Zhou Mei, 28; and his friend, Jian Wei, are now considered “persons of interest” based on the documents found at the site of the abduction.
On Monday, Zhou Mei, 28, a POGO area manager in the city, was forcibly taken by three unidentified Chinese-looking men aboard a gray Kia Carnival along Paseo de Roxas in Barangay San Lorenzo, Makati, around 9 p.m.
“The husband did not immediately go to us despite knowing that his wife, Mei, had been abducted. He went here Tuesday afternoon and claimed that there were people calling him, asking for P60 million,” he said.
“Also, he did not seem eager to find his wife. (When) I asked him why he did not go immediately to police, he said he was busy,” Ines added.
Moreover, Ines said that Tangbin lied about the car deed of sale found at the crime scene on Paseo de Roxas.
“He was claiming that his wife was bringing the car deed of sale, but it was seen on the closed-circuit television footage that we obtained that she was not bringing anything,” he said.
Ines said that they found the names of Tangbin and Wei on the documents they recovered.
Tangbin, according to the document, was selling a Honda Accord 2007 to his friend Wei for P1 million.
“I went to the house of Wei, the address declared in his driver’s license, but it was non-existent. We can’t find him. Tangbin told me that Wei is his friend,” he said.
On the other hand, the phone numbers that were calling Tangbin were traced around Pasay. But, Ines said they can no longer contact the numbers that Tangbin gave them.
Tangbin said that he was able to talk to his wife and that she was telling him to give the money they were asking, Ines said
“He said that he was able to talk to his wife, saying she begged him to provide the money his abductors were asking,” he said.
When Ines asked the husband if he has the capability to provide the money, he said he is jobless now. It was learned that Tangbin is a former POGO employee.
Police theorize that the people behind the abduction want to extort money from the boss of the victim.
According to Ines, so far, the boss of Mei has not received any demand from her abductors. (Jel Santos)
