Anti-kidnapping operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) rescued on Saturday four Malaysians in a raid on the safehouse of their Chinese abductors in San Pedro, Laguna, officials announced yesterday.
Brig. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, director of the Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG), said the abduction appears to be related to the operation of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGO wherein employees are being prevented from getting out of their job.
He identified the rescued Malaysians as Tan Hang Yi, Kho Soon Chiang, Cheam Chun Keat, and Jonathan Ting Zhi Haw.
“The operation stemmed from a request for assistance to rescue four Malaysian citizens who were kidnapped, threatened, and being demanded money for their release,” said Estomo.
The request for assistance came from the International Police through the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime.
Estomo said his men immediately located the whereabouts of the victims at the Chrysantemum Village in San Pedro.
“The teams were able to locate the safehouse where the kidnap victims are being held, which at the same time is also a POGO hub, and swiftly conducted rescue operation which resulted to the safe release of the kidnap victims,” said Estomo.
The operation also resulted in the arrest of 17 Chinese identified as Chao-Min Weng, 26; Xiongxing Gan, 23: Jiang Yang, 27; Haihua Liang, 22; Jin Tang,21; Zhoujing Yu, 27; Xinjian Tang, 25; Mingyun Hoh, 21; Zhang Hao, 28; Go Jun, 23, Haiyang Duan, 23; Zhang Lihong, 23; Rung Mei Sun, 21; Masdi Jadi, 36; Yam.Chak Wan, 27; Sun Bin 29 and Chen Ming, 23.
Two of their Filipino companions were also arrested, identified as 31-year-old David Acosta and 29-year-old Joseph Indicio.
AKG spokesman Maj. Ronaldo Lumactod said the initial investigation disclosed that the four Malaysians were recruited as card dealers in a casino in Metro Manila.
They were promised to get high salary and benefits like free hotel accommodation.
But when the Malaysians arrived in the country on Friday (Feb. 14), the suspects confiscated their passports and transported them to San Pedro.
It was then that the four Malaysians decided to quit and go back. But the suspects allegedly demanded money from them in exchange for their release.
“One of them even paid huge sum of money through his relatives in Malaysia,” Lumactod said in an interview.
But relatives of the four Malaysians sought the assistance of the Malaysian government, which in turn brought the issue to the Interpol. It is the Interpol which alerted the AKG of the kidnapping.
Lumactod said they are now readying the charges against the seven arrested Chinese. (Aaron Recuenco)
