CEBU – Police are investigating the kidnapping of a Chinese national following a daring and dramatic rescue mission that left four Chinese gunmen dead in Lapu-Lapu City.
Police said the 70-year old victim, Lyu Xingou, was seized by the kidnappers outside his house in Lahug village in Cebu City on May 25 and brought to a safe house in the village Bangkal in Lapu-Lapu City where he was rescued on May 30.
This was also confirmed by Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao, the acting chief of the Philippine National Police, who identified the slain kidnappers as Jinming Gong, from Guangdong province; Yiping You, from Fujian province; Fengqiang Li, from Shandong province; and Heng Lin, also from Fujian.
“Further investigation is being conducted (to determine) if they have other cohorts still on the loose,” Danao said.
He said the kidnappers were killed in a gun fight after police forces stormed the gunmen’s hideout. “As the operatives were about to enter the house, a firefight ensued that led to the death of the suspects and the safe rescue of the victim,” the general said, adding weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the hideout, including laptops and cell phones, among other personal items.
Danao said the bodies of the slain gunmen were brought to the morgue.
A police report said Lyu was preparing to report for work at the Mactan Newtown Complex in Lapu-Lapu City when he was taken at gunpoint by the Chinese kidnappers and forced into a black car. While in captivity, the kidnappers demanded one million Chinese Yuan from Lyu’s family, but only managed to pay 500,000 through WeChat payment portal.
Lyu did not release any statement, but Danao
strongly warned kidnap-for-ransom gangs, saying the police are serious in its
anti-criminality drive. “The unyielding manhunt operations against notorious
kidnap-for-ransom groups serve as a strong signal to criminals that the PNP is
very serious in addressing criminality and lawlessness in the country,” he
said.
Lapu-Lapu
Mayor Junard Chan has assured the safety of foreign travelers in the city and
said he ordered the local police force headed by Col. Arnel Banzon to identify
the mastermind behind Lyu’s kidnapping.
“Through
our Lapu-Lapu City Police Office, I will make sure to find out exactly who the
mastermind is in order to stop such acts. That way, we can give peace of mind
to our visiting foreign nationals that they are safe in our city because of the
ability of our police to solve similar crimes and arrest criminal crooks in
society,” he said. (Cebu Examiner and John Rey Saavedra)
