![Azurin1](https://journalnews.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Azurin1.jpg)
Cops rescue abducted, ‘tortured’ Chinese nat’l
A VIDEO of a naked female Chinese national being struck with a metal baseball bat by her kidnapper triggered a massive police operation which led to the safe rescue of the victim in her abductors’ safehouse in Batangas City, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. on Friday said.
According to the top cop, the foreigner’s 20-day sad ordeal at the hands of her kidnappers ended following her rescue inside a convenience store in Barangay Alangilan in Batangas City.
Azurin said that members of the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) and the Batangas City Police Station, and the Police Regional Office 4-A (PRO4A) under Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. were also able to locate a house in Nueva Villa Subdivision in Bgy. Alangilan, where the victim was held hostage and tortured.
Before the victim’s rescue, her Chinese boyfriend surfaced at the PNP-AKG headquarters in Camp Crame to report the disappearance of his 28-year-old girlfriend.
The victim, according to the complainant, was last seen on the night of September 16 inside the Hammer Disco Light in Bgy. Balibago in Angeles City with another friend.
Around 12:24 a.m. the following day, the two were seen leaving the premises of the entertainment club.
The identities of the victim and her companion were temporarily withheld as part of the ongoing investigation, said PNP-AKG Director Col. Rodolfo D. Castil Jr.
Last September 18, the complainant said that an unidentified caller called him up and demanded US$2 million or roughly P116 million in ransom for her girlfriend’s safe release.
The caller then sent a video clip of the naked victim shouting and crying in pain while being hit with a baseball bat in the different parts of her body.
Leads acquired by the PNP-AKG triggered the rescue of the victim in Batangas City by the local police.
The victim is now under the custody of the PNP-AKG, undergoing a debriefing. She was subjected to medical treatment following her rescue.
Azurin said that some suspects have already been identified and are being tracked down by his men.
“With the strong dedication of our units to put an end to these kidnapping incidents, the PNP guarantees the intensified monitoring and security of our community against kidnapping gangs,” he said.