7 kidnap suspects fall

Seven Chinese nationals said to be responsible for the kidnapping of a scion of a wealthy Chinese businessman based in San Fernando City, La Union, were arrested in a joint police raid at the Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City, Thursday night.

National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTAF) Deputy Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., said the arrest resulted in the recovery of P10 million in ransom money paid by the family of kidnap victim Jacqui Tiu, daughter of Rudy Tiu, a prominent businessman in San Fernando City.

Tui was released unharmed by her fellow Chinese kidnappers at Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at about 9:30 p.m. also on Thursday, Ebdane said.

Nabbed inside room 467 of Westin Philippine Plaza at about 11:30 p.m. the other night were Jason Pineda Lim, 28; Jacky King Sy alias Shi Jian Hui, 22; Aaron-Chang Tin, 35; Tony Co alias Xu You Kuang, 21 and Zhang Xi Wang.

Agents of the Philippine National Police-Intelligence Group (PNP-IG) under Chief Superintendent Robert Delfin, and NAKTAF headed by Ebdane and Regional Police Office-1 under Chief Superintendent Arturo Lomibao, raided the suspects’ room shortly after the P10-ransom payoff at the Manila Hotel Thursday evening.

In a separate operation at St. Joseph Village, Barangay Panapaan, Bacoor, Cavite, anti-kidnapping police agents likewise arrested two other suspects identified as Zhang Du, 35, and Ocampo Jacky Sy, 23.

The two reportedly served as Tiu’s guards while she was being kept at the place after the suspects forcibly snatched her, together with her mother, near their residence at 14 Martinez Road, Lingsat, San Fernando City last Sept. 27.

Senior Superintendent Jaime Caringal, PNP-IG deputy chief and Superintendent Allan Purisima of NAKTAF, said the suspects were members of the criminal underworld into China who shifted operations to the country, with wealthy Chinese topping their list of targets.

"After the pay-off, we were able to tail some of the suspects. And minutes after they entered their hotel room, we literally caught them with their pants down, because they only had their jockeys on," Caringal said.

Aside from the recovery of the P10 million in ransom money, police agents who swooped down at the suspects’ safehouse in Tarlac City yesterday recovered a caliber .45 pistol, a caliber .38 revolver and a caliber .25 pistol, said to be the guns used by the suspects in Tiu’s abduction.

The victim who is now undergoing debriefing at the NAKTAF headquarters at Camp Crame, positively identified most of the arrested suspects as her abductors.

PNP chief Director General Leandro Mendoza said that coordination has been made with the Chinese authorities about the arrest of the suspects.

"This is something new in the Philippines, we are coordinating with Chinese authorities and the International Police (Interpol) about this matter," Mendoza said.

He also ordered Delfin, IG chief, to conduct a study on why there is a sudden shift of kidnap-for-ransom suspects from locals to foreigners, and directed all PNP operating units to establish the connections of Chinese kidnappers victimizing wealthy Filipino-Chinese in the country. Mendoza also enjoined the Chinese community to be on guard against this new kidnapping trend.