THE driver of the 14-year-old Chinese student who was rescued by the police last Tuesday night in Paranaque City was a member of the Chinese-led syndicate that kidnapped the boy, indicating the snatching was an inside job, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said yesterday.
“But he is not here to defend himself anymore,” Remulla said in a TV interview, referring to the driver who was murdered by his cohorts after the kidnapping Thursday last week.
Remulla said the boy sent a text to his father that they were taking a different route on their way to their residence in the BGC area in Taguig City from his school.
After exiting the C-5 road, Remulla said the driver and the boy transferred to another vehicle, leaving their Ford Everest sports utility vehicle, which authorities later recovered.
The body of the driver, who was not identified, was found inside another vehicle in San Rafael, Bulacan, last Friday. Authorities found the driver’s cell phone in the vehicle.
“According to the contents of the cell phone of the driver, he was in cahoots with the perpetrators of the crime. He was part of the syndicate,” said Remulla.
“And according to the information that we got, he was only employed for one month before the incident happened,” added Remulla.
Remulla said they believe the driver was killed by his cohorts about six hours after the kidnapping.
Asked why the driver was killed by his cohorts when he is a part of the group, Remulla said: “That is part of the drill because he would be the first suspect in an incident like that.”
Remulla said the syndicate that kidnapped the boy is composed of 22 men, including four Chinese who are the leaders. The 18 others, he said, were “former bodyguards and former henchmen.”
The suspects sent videos to the boy’s parents, one showing the boy’s right little finger being severed and the other showing the boy singing the favorite song of his younger sister.
“These people are barbaric; they have crossed the line of being human already. They’ve lost all conscience; they are psychopaths; they will do anything to gain an advantage,” said Remulla.
The suspects initially demanded $20 million in ransom, which was later lowered to $1 million. Remulla stressed that the family did not pay any ransom.
POGO-RELATED
Authorities said the kidnapping was related to the operation of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators in the country. The boy’s father, who was not identified, had an unspecified amount of debt with the Chinese suspects who were also involved in POGO operations.
One of the Chinese suspects was earlier identified as Wang Dan Yu, also known as Bao Long, who was linked to a shooting incident in Makati City in October last year, leading to the death of another Chinese.
“He is the main suspect, the mastermind of this syndicate,” said Remulla, adding that police operatives tried to arrest the suspect in Central Luzon last Wednesday night.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to corner him. He had escaped by the time we arrived. But we will find him. We know who he is. We know where he hangs out. We have his numbers. We know his people. And we are almost certain that we will get him pretty soon,” said Remulla.
The victim was left by his kidnappers along a road in Paranaque City last Tuesday night while they were being pursued. Police tracked the suspect’s location through the cell phone of one of the suspects.
“We picked up the signal there and there was only one unit that was able to respond when we were on (the) chase. I think the perpetrators noticed that there was something wrong,” said Remulla, adding this left the suspects without any option but to let go of the victim.
“They (policemen) saw a boy, a Chinese boy in pajamas, so they stopped immediately. It was a choice between rescuing the boy or getting the perpetrators,” said Remulla, adding the policemen chose to “rescue the boy to make sure that he was okay.”
LEGAL STAY?
Communications Undersecretary and Presidential Press Officer Claire Castro said authorities would look into the background of the family of the kidnapped boy, including the legality of their stay in the country amid reports the father of the victim was connected with previous POGO activities.
Castro, in a briefing, said Malacanang has no information on the complete background and personal circumstances of the Chinese whose boy was kidnapped and later abandoned during hot pursuit operations.
Authorities had claimed the father of the boy is a Chinese who may have been involved in the operation of POGOs that had been banned last year.
“Don’t they have the proper documents to enable them to stay? If they do not have the proper documents, we have to check on that. We cannot say anything against them, we need the documents,” she said.
Castro said that a foreign family needs proper documents to stay, study, and live in the country.
She also said that authorities are intensifying efforts to ensure nobody would again be snatched.
She said the recent kidnapping does not mean there is a rise in the crime rate in the country.
“We do not like this incident and agencies are improving their efforts to prevent and stop these incidents,” she said.
The PNP reported that the recent kidnapping was the eighth this year, adding that most of the victims involved foreigners. – With Jocelyn Montemayor
