THE Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) is investigating the possibility that four Asian nationals arrested in connection with the kidnapping-for-ransom and murder of a Filipino-Chinese businessman in Quezon City may have also been involved in other previous KFR cases in Metro Manila where the victims were mutilated, the PNP spokesperson said on Monday.

“Maaaring yung grupo na ito ay involved din sa ibang previous cases na pinuputulan ang daliri ng mga victims at ipinapadala ang mga ito o videos sa pamilya para matakot at makipag-cooperate sa kanilang ransom demand,” said Colonel Jean Fajardo.

The official said that she has been told by the PNP-AKG, headed by Brigadier General Rodolfo D. Castil Jr., that the suspects apparently were not “1st-timers” in the kidnapping-for-ransom industry.

“PNP-AKG agents are still tracking down their other possible cohorts, including some Filipinos. The AKG is also backtracking, reviewing other past cases that may have been perpetrated by the suspects,” she said.

‘Ruthless but not wise enough’

The arrested kidnappers may be “ruthless” but are not “wise enough” since they demanded that the ransom money they asked from the family of the late Mario Sy Uy be sent via GCash and online banking, giving the PNP-AKG easy time to find the money trail and make the arrests last week.

The suspects: a 30-year-old resident of a condominium in Pasay City; a 26-year-old suspect with an unknown address; another suspect, also 26, was a resident of a village in Moonwalk, Parañaque City.

A 4th suspect, a 33-year-old female Vietnamese national residing at Barangay Central, Diliman, Quezon City, was arrested in Uptown Mall in BGC, Taguig City.

The suspect is an online seller said to be working as an associate manager of a known Business Processing Office (BPO) in Taguig City.

It turned out that the P560,000 ransom money given by the victim’s family was deposited in the Vietnamese national’s BPI account last March 20. An investigation showed she withdrew the same amount two days later and delivered it to another Vietnamese national who is still being sought for questioning by the PNP-AKG.

The four were charged with kidnapping-for-ransom with murder before the Department of Justice last Saturday. All are now being held at the PNP-AKG lock-up facility in Camp Crame in connection with the case of the victim whose body was dumped in a grassy area in Bgy. Tres Cruses in Tanza, Cavite, a report to PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. said.

The principal accused is three ruthless Chinese nationals, while the 4th is a Vietnamese woman who collected the ransom money deposited to her bank account by the victim’s family.

An investigation showed that on Wednesday evening, a group of students undergoing the Probationary Officers Training Course of the Philippine Army Reserve Command discovered the body of the victim covered with a brown blanket at the grassy area of Saddle and Club Leisure Park in Bgy. Tres Cruses.

The victim described as more or less 30-40 years old and about 5’6” inches in height, was wearing a “maong” pants but without an upper garment when found. His face was covered with duct tape, and black jacket was looped around his neck. According to Cavite Police Provincial Office (PPO) Director Colonel Christopher F. Olazo, the victim had severe wounds on his hand and neck.

Castil said that prior to the discovery of the victim’s body, they have already started an investigation into a complaint filed by the man’s family.

The kidnappers were found to have recorded on video the torture of the victim, whose fingers were cut off by one of the suspects to serve as a strong warning to his family that they should immediately heed their ransom demand.

The official said that it appears that the kidnappers tortured and killed the victim before throwing his body in Cavite last Wednesday morning despite demanding ransom money from his family.

According to Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Executive Director Gilbert DC Cruz, the PNP-AKG sought the assistance of the PAOCC and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) in collecting pertinent data and other information that would help in the identification and location of the possible suspects.

Last Thursday, the PNP-AKG launched a massive operation against the suspects. The 1st operation conducted by the PNP-AKG with the support of the Parañaque City Police Station led to the arrest of three Chinese nationals after they conspired to withdraw the ransom money deposited in their bank account inside a local bank.

The PNP-AKG has also met with officials of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO) following the latest KFR case and assured them that all measures are underway to neutralize kidnapping gangs in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.

“We want to assure our kababayans, particularly the Filipino-Chinese community, that the PNP is always on top of the situation. Although we failed to prevent this latest incident, all efforts were undertaken to arrest the suspects,” said Fajardo who aired the continuous appeal of the PNP leadership to the public and the MRPO, in particular, to keep providing the police force with information that would lead to the neutralization of KFR gangs in the country.