By Aaron Recuenco
Police rescued two Chinese nationals from the clutches of their eight countrymen, who had earlier kidnapped them and held them hostage, during a raid on the abductors’ lair in Las Pinas City.
Police Maj. Gen. Amador Corpus, director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said the eight suspects, all Chinese online gamers, were arrested during the operation carried out on Saturday in Pamplona Park Subdivision, Barangay Pamplona 2, Las Piñas City.
They were identified as Gui Yang, Zhou Xia Long, Wang Wen Tao, Xiong Li, Jiang Fan, Hong Pei Feng, Ly Shao Yong, and Jiang Ying Jiang, all employees of the Van Gogh Company as online gamers. They are currently under CIDG custody.
Corpus said they learned of the kidnapping after two freelance protection agents sought police assistance for the rescue of two kidnapped victims identified as 27-year-old Liu Chao and 25-year-old Li San Sheng.
“They reported that two Chinese nationals were allegedly abducted by a group of Chinese nationals. The said agents also showed a video of the kidnapped victims being maltreated while handcuffed,” said Corpus.
The kidnappers, all operators of online gaming websites, are allegedly led by a certain “Tanda” and a certain “Baho.”
Corpus said the kidnapping was part of the suspects’ modus operandi s wherein they monitor and befriend online game players who win large amount of money.
“These players will then be invited to a dinner and will be offered with a job with high salary. When these players show up in the meeting, they will kidnap, detain, and torture them and demand money in exchange for their safety and liberty,” said Corpus.
During the police operation, Corpus said the two victims were found handcuffed with each other against a wooden double deck bed in a room inside the subject premise, with visible marks of injuries on their bodies and spills of blood within the area.
Seized during the operation were a wrench, packaging tape, pliers, handcuffs, and mobile phones, all of which were used on the victims.
The victims have been subjected to medico-legal examination, according to Corpus.
“The confiscated mobile phones were subjected to forensic examination at the Anti-Cybercrime Group,” Corpus added.
A case for violation of Article 267 (Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention) of the Revised Penal Code was filed through inquest proceedings at the Office of the City Prosecutor in Las Piñas City.