AUTHORITIES arrested the alleged co-mastermind in the kidnapping for ransom and murder of Chinese businessman Anson Que and his driver over the weekend.
In a press conference on Monday, May 19, 2025, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said Wenli Gong was arrested in a posh hotel in Boracay Island.
Fajardo said the suspect went into hiding on the island by transferring from one hotel to another since she arrived there via private jet on April 26, 2025.
Arrested along with Gong were her alleged parents and another Chinese national, Jiabing Wo, who helped her in hiding.
They were taken into custody on the basis of undesirability by the Bureau of Immigration.
Fajardo said recovered from Wo, who is a hair stylist by profession, is a full-head mask believed to be intended to conceal Gong’s identity as they try to elude her arrest.
Gong has a P10 million bounty in her head over her alleged involvement in Que’s case.
“Malaking bagay na nahuli na itong si alias Kelly. Malaki ang naging papel niya sa kidnapping ni Anson Que. Naniniwala tayo na marami siyang alam na information,” said Fajardo.
(It’s a big deal that alias Kelly has been caught. He played a major role in the kidnapping of Anson Que. We believe he knows a lot of information.)
“Ngayon, we want to really find out sino talaga nakinabang or end user ng ransom,” she added.
(Now, we really want to find out who actually benefited or the end user of the ransom.)
Gong, according to David Tan Liao, who was identified as the mastermind of the incident, was used as bait to entice the primary victim, Que, to visit a residential house where they were allegedly killed on April 8, a day before their bodies were found in a side street in Rodriguez, Rizal.
She also allegedly negotiated with Que’s family for the ransom payout and was also responsible for converting the money to crypto currency.
The PNP earlier said the money was transferred through two junket operators in the country.
Fajardo said of the total ransom money, $205,000, has already been frozen through the efforts of the Anti-Kidnapping Group and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
She said the bulk of the money was transferred to a Cambodian crypto currency account, which is outside the jurisdiction of the PNP.
Fajardo said Gong is yet to give any statement related to the case.
She said the PNP is considering the case solved, noting the charges filed and the capture of the key players in the case.
However, it is not considered closed yet, as one more suspect remains at large. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)