2 MALAYSIANS AMONG 44 HELD OVER KIDNAPPING IN MANILA

Group abducted Singaporean woman and demanded RM772,400 ransom

MANILA

FORTY-FOUR Chinese and Malaysian suspects have been detained in the Philippines over the kidnapping and beating of a Singaporean woman abducted at a casino here, authorities said yesterday.

Police found the victim, Wu Yan, 48, at a condominium here on Tuesday, a day after her abduction by two Malaysian members of the gang, Justice Undersecretary Erickson Balmes said.

“(She) was held, deprived of her right to liberty and was beaten and threatened by her kidnappers who demanded US$180,000 (RM772,400) for her release.”

Two Malaysians and 42 Chinese suspects were arrested after her rescue and would be charged with kidnapping, police said.

“The group was believed to be responsible for the series of kidnapping incidents perpetrated against foreign nationals who are high-roller casino players in recent months,” Balmes said.

He gave no details of the other supposed abductions nor what had happened to the victims.

The Philippines had in recent years been drawing foreign casino players as it builds up its gaming industry, aiming to rival Las Vegas and Macau.

However, the reported kidnappings and an arson attack on another casino here that killed 37 people last month have raised safety concerns.

Philippine police anti-kidnapping group spokesman Abelardo Borromeo said the gang members were believed to be part of a loan shark syndicate operating at a glittering strip housing megacasinos fronting Manila Bay.

The victim was playing baccarat at one of the casinos there when the two Malaysian suspects “befriended” her and invited her to play in another casino in the area, Borromeo said.

Instead, the suspects brought her to the condominium and demanded a ransom, he said.

National police chief General Ronald Dela Rosa yesterday vowed a crackdown on kidnappings as he paraded the suspects before television cameras.

“You are free to come and enjoy gambling, but you are not free to commit crimes when you are here in the Philippines,” he told the suspects. AFP