By Jel Santos
The three Chinese nationals apprehended in Makati City for kidnapping a compatriot were set free after the victim reportedly left the country in haste, a Makati police official said Wednesday afternoon.
Major Gideon Ines Jr., Makati Police Investigation Unit chief, said Sun Yi Cheng, 25; Zhang Di, 29; and Wei Bao Kun, 30 were released after being detained for kidnapping.
"We called the Chinese Embassy, they told us that the victim, Lein Kun, already left the country. Because of this, we had to release the suspects," he said.
"There's no complainant that is why we freed them."
Ines said that they were told the victim that he would return on Wednesday morning, but he did not appear.
The three suspects, according to a police report, held 24-year-old Lei Kun inside a mall in Barangay Olympia, Makati City on Tuesday around 6 p.m.
The three suspects told the victim that they will release him in exchange for P100, 000.
The victim reportedly phoned his friend, Dan Guo Qing, asking him to pay his abductors P100,000.
Police believe that the suspects were involved in online gaming, and that the victim was unable to pay his debt that was why they kidnapped him.
Little did the three men know, the friend of the victim already coordinated with the Makati police.
An entrapment operation then followed which resulted in their apprehension.