Chinese deputy consul, finance officer shot dead in Cebu
CEBU – Two Chinese diplomats were killed, while the Chinese consul general in Cebu City was wounded when a Chinese woman went on a shooting rampage in a restaurant in Cebu City yesterday afternoon.
Killed were Deputy Consul General Sun Shan and finance officer Hui Li. They died from gunshot wounds while being treated in hospital.
Wounded Consul General Song Rong Hua was also taken to a hospital in Cebu City for treatment.
Song has been in his post for only a few weeks, it was learned from one of the Chinese diplomats.
His condition was not immediately known.
Suspects Li Quing Liang and his wife Guo Jing are in the custody of the Cebu City police, according to Central Visayas police director Chief Supt. Tom Banas.
The suspects invoked diplomatic immunity as they allegedly are also Chinese consular officers, a source told The STAR.
The female suspect worked at the Chinese consulate, Philippine National Police spokesman Wilben Mayor said in a text
message to Agence France Presse.
Police retrieved a semi-automatic .45 Colt pistol from the scene, he added.
The shooting took place at around 1:30 p. m. at the Lighthouse Restaurant on Mango Avenue, Banas said.
It occurred in a private room of the upmarket restaurant, a favorite of local politicians, Lighthouse manager Stephen John Patero told AFP by phone.
“We did not really see the actual shooting,” he said. “They were inside a private function room. There was a series of gunshots.”
Waiters who served them had heard the guests shouting at each other, Patero said.
Reservation for the party of nine was made shortly before lunch, and the group ordered a banquet that included popular local delicacies such as tuna head, shrimps and roasted pork.
“They ordered a lot of food but no liquor,” said Remedios Rivalde, a cashier at the restaurant.
Li Lingxiao, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Manila, said she could not yet comment.
“Our embassy is still verifying the facts,” she said in a text message to AFP. “We’ll update you as soon as I have anything new.”
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose also had no comment, saying an investigation was ongoing.
The Chinese consul general, a career diplomat who joined the foreign service in 1987, was reportedly celebrating his birthday in the restaurant.
Based on footage from CCTV camera in the restaurant, the group was nearly done with lunch when a heated argument broke out and the suspects started shooting.
Police have coordinated with the Chinese embassy as part of protocol and Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua would be flying to Cebu City to personally look into the matter, Banas said.
The two suspects claimed they could not speak English, Banas said, adding they had a lawyer.
National Bureau of Investigation special investigator Larry Dominguez went to the Cebu police office yesterday to get details.
The weapon and empty shells recovered from the scene are with the police Crime Laboratory for ballistics tests.