Mandaue ambush: Trader killed, children hurt

CEBU, Philippines — A Filipino-Chinese businessman was killed while two of his children were wounded when they were ambushed in Barangay Cubacub, Mandaue City Sunday night.

The businessman, Yi Feng Guo Yang, 51, succumbed to several gunshot wounds to different parts of his body. His children, Ginabelle Guo Yang, 18, and Stefhen Guo Yang, 16, are recuperating at the hospital.

Mandaue City Police Office Information Officer Mercy Villaro said the victims were travelling from their store in neighboring Consolacion when four assailants on board XRM motorcycles appeared and peppered their L300 van with bullets.

The suspects fled the crime scene right after.

Initial investigation showed that the suspects fired more shots at the side of the van where Yi Feng was seated. It appeared that Yi Feng was the target of the ambush but investigation is ongoing to support this theory, Villaro said.

“Sa initial lang nato nakita, mas daghan og bala nga nakita sa driver’s seat nga possible pud makaingon ta ang amahan mao target pero di pa na conclusive tungod padayon pa gihapon ang investigation (We saw that there were more bullets found on the side of the driver’s seat, which makes it possible that the father was the target. This is not conclusive because investigation is still ongoing),” she said.

Investigators are checking the area for closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras that may have captured the incident.

Villaro said Yi Feng also owns a business in Mandaue City.

As of yesterday, the victims’ family was on a state of shock and could not speak with authorities yet.

Nevertheless, the police are considering several angles in the investigation, including personal grudge and business rivalry.

“Dili pa gihapon nato ma-determine diha dayon ang motibo… tanan gi-consider nato pero as to the real motive, nag-follow-up investigation pa gihapon atong mga investigators (We cannot determine the motive just yet while investigation is going on but we’re considering all angles),” Villaro said. (FREEMAN)