PNP: 2 nabbed for alleged abduction of Chinese, but ‘kidnap-me’ angle eyed
[Updated April 24, 2025. 8:47 p.m.]
MANILA, Philippines — A 27-year-old Taiwanese man and a 24-year-old Filipino man were arrested for allegedly kidnapping a Chinese individual from Manila, but authorities suspected the incident to be a “kidnap-me” case.
In a press conference on Thursday, Philippine National Police (PNP) public information chief Col. Randulf Tuaño said the two suspects were arrested in separate operations in Parañaque City and Las Piñas City last Tuesday.
According to Tuaño, the victim was last seen leaving their internal design company’s office in Malate, Manila late on Thursday evening, April 17.
She then called two of her fellow employees, both Chinese nationals.
“She said she was kidnapped, that P500,000 needed to be produced and that she would be gone for two to three days,” Tuaño detailed in Filipino.
“When she was told that the P500,000 was produced, she gave a new instruction to convert the P500,000 to a cryptocurrency. She gave the cryptocurrency account where the money she asked for was deposited into,” Tuaño added.
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Tuaño said the two suspects were currently under the custody of the Manila Police District (MPD), awaiting a case for kidnapping and serious illegal detention under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code.
‘Kidnap-me’
However, according to the PNP public information chief, the case against the suspects was facing a challenge since the supposed victim stopped cooperating with law enforcement.
“The victim no longer wants to give an affidavit complaint. That’s why our suspicion that this was a ‘kidnap-me’ case is growing stronger… She doesn’t want to cooperate, she doesn’t want to accept calls,” he said.
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“We’re looking at the angle that this is possibly a ‘kidnap-me’ case. Ordinarily, the one demanding in a kidnap-for-ransom case is the suspects… This is different. She was the one who gave the instructions,”Tuaño added.
The suspects are currently detained at the Manila Police District (MPD) custodial facility, awaiting complaints before the Manila Office of the City Prosecutor for violating Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code, which pertains to kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
