Police to probe involvement of foreigners in kidnapping

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is conducting a research on the involvement of expatriates and other foreigners in kidnapping activities in the Philippines.

On instructions of PNP Chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome, the anti-kidnapping group under Senior Superintendent Renato Gumban will try to establish any pattern of syndicated kidnapping in all previous cases involving foreigners linked to the kidnapping of their fellow countrymen.

Bartolome's order was prompted by the arrest on Thursday in Cebu City of a South Korean believed to be the prime suspect behind the kidnapping of another Korean and his Filipina wife in the southern city.

Based on AKG records, this is not the first time that a foreigner was involved in the kidnapping of his countryman.

"We need to look deeper into kidnapping cases of similar nature to determine if there is a pattern of syndicated crime operation of transnational dimension," Bartolome said.

Three Filipino henchmen of the arrested Korean suspect are also under police custody for direct involvement in the kidnapping.

On Saturday, Korean Song Sung Heum, 33; and Filipinos Gregorio Dealagon, Richard Dealagon, and Leonardo Bolabon were presented for inquest proceedings before government prosecutors for the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of couple Jun Hyun Chung and his Filipina common-law wife Charisse Santiago.

AKG records indicate that the couple was snatched by the three Filipino suspects from their home in downtown Cebu City late morning of October 24, shackled, shoved into a car and driven around Cebu suburbs.

On the evening of the same day, Cebu City police and AKG operatives arrested the trio and rescued the couple while the suspects were attempting to withdraw cash from the victim's account at an auto-teller machine.

The suspects readily admitted to be acting on orders of Song who reportedly demanded P4 million from the victims. Hours later, Song was arrested upon arrival at the Mactan International Airport from South Korea. (VR/Sunnex)