4 Chinese held for kidnapping 3 compatriots

MANILA, Philippines — Four Chinese men were arrested for allegedly kidnapping three of their compatriots in Manila last week, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday.

Chen Zhimin, Luo Canfeng, Li Jai Huang and Wang Yiping reportedly kidnapped Han Yang Liu, a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) employee, before dawn on Jan. 18 and held him hostage in a hotel in Malate after Han failed to pay his debts to the syndicate, said NBI deputy director Ferdinand Lavin. 

Agents led by Czar Eric Nuqui, chief of the NBI’s environmental crime division, arranged to pay the P600,000 ransom the suspects were demanding from Han’s relatives in China and made the arrest after the suspects received the marked money.

The agents rescued Han and two others from one of the hotel’s rooms. Nuqui said the suspects physically abused the victims and threatened to kill them if their families failed to produce the money.

The suspects are reportedly part of a syndicate whose members lure Chinese to the Philippines and lend them money for gambling. The victims are treated well until they can no longer pay their debts, Nuqui said.