EIGHT Chinese men were arrested in separate operations over the weekend for the kidnapping of their fellow citizens.
A Filipino national was also arrested along with the Chinese suspects on November 23, said Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Joel Saliba.
He identified those arrested in San Pedro, Laguna on November 23 as Chen Kai En, Wang Jian Xiong, Mei Lin and Ariel Carmona. Their cohorts, Jack Chan and Ruohuang Chen, were arrested the next days in Cabuyao, Laguna.
Their arrest stemmed from a report that the group was keeping two Chinese nationals who were working in a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) establishment.
Saliba said the two victims, identified as Li Fei Yu and Long Yong Lin, arrived in the country on November 13 to work as computer technicians in a company owned by Chan.
The two men, however, wanted to go home. They alleged that the suspects demanded that they pay for the amount used by the company to bring them to the Philippines. Chan then ordered to detain them.
Yu and Lin said the suspects beat them and recorded the beatings. The video clips were then sent to their families in China to force them to pay the fees for their release.
In another operation on November 24, elements of the AKG arrested Gong Xiong, Wang Weibin and Wang Qing Bong for the detention of Sha Shuo, 31.
Shuo has been working as a manager at the Mandarin Customer Service Company for the past two years.
He said he went on a vacation in China for a week and when he returned to the Philippines, he expressed his desire to leave the company for another job.
He said the two suspects abducted him allegedly on the order of the company owner who does not want him to leave the company.
Shuo said the suspects showed him a piece of paper indicating his billing statement.
The victim was rescued in a condominium unit in Paranaque City after his friend reported his abduction.
The AKG earlier expressed alarm over the increasing number of Pogo-related kidnappings.
Saliba said they were dismayed that in most cases, charges against the suspects were dismissed and amicable settlements are reached with their victims.
He also admitted that Pogo-related kidnappings were “draining” their resources.
Saliba said they are continuously coordinating with other concerned agencies and the Chinese embassy to address this matter. (SunStar Philippines)