Authorities have rescued two Vietnamese women who were abducted by two Chinese nationals in Las Piñas City.
In a report sent to newsmen Wednesday, the National Capital Region Police Office said the victims were identified as Pha Ti Khim Yin and Nguyen Thi Than Mai, while the suspect was Li Mu Qin.
The victims were rescued in an operation conducted at 12 Street, Golden Gate Subdivision in Barangay Talon 3 around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Another suspect identified as Zhao Chao, also a Chinese national, remains at large.
The operation stemmed from the complaint of Nguyen Anh Hong Trang, who said her cousins were being held by the suspects who demanded P1 million for their release.
After they were rescued, the victims revealed they met their captors through online dating on Dec. 30, 2019.
When the victims entered the suspects’ boarding house, their hands and legs were immediately tied with packing tape, and they were instructed to contact their immediate family to pay ransom for their release.
One of the victims was able to send her location via Google, which was used by the operatives in finding and rescuing them.
The suspect Li, who is now detained at NCRPO, has been charged with kidnapping for ransom and serious illegal detention under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code.
Kidnapping involving Chinese nationals have been on the rise since the country opened its doors to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations or POGOs.
The influx of Chinese nationals—mostly Pogo employees on tourist visas and casino players on gambling junkets organized in China—has made a significant impact in the Philippines’ peace and order situation, the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group reported last month.
Their crimes—mostly kidnapping for ransom and, lately, prostitution in dens run exclusively for Chinese Pogo workers—do not directly affect Filipinos but have added to the responsibilities of the police, particularly the PNP-AKG.
According to PNP-AKG records, there were six “Pogo-related kidnappings” in January-November 2019, with eight of the nine victims have been rescued or accounted for. Thirty suspects, mostly Chinese nationals, have been arrested.
“Casino-related kidnappings” of mostly Chinese nationals totaled 36 in 2019. Of the 40 victims, only 21 have been accounted for, along with 58 suspects.
The number of casino-related kidnappings was 17 in 2017 and 16 in 2018. This year’s figure reflects a very obvious increase, PNP-AKG noted.