Philippine police save kidnapped Chinese man in 53rd case of casino-related abductions
- Bian Xiaoguo’s father was sent a video of his son being tortured and asked for a ransom of US$42,500
- The rash of kidnappings come as Chinese nationals flock to the Philippines to work in casinos or offshore gaming operators
Bian Xiaoguo, from Shandong, was freed by the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group after his father complained to the Chinese consulate in Manila that he had been sent a video of his son being tortured and was told to pay a ransom of 300,000 yuan (US$42,500).
Pogos employ roughly 138,000 Chinese workers, according to a local media report.
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Colonel Jonnel Estomo, who heads the anti-kidnapping group, told the South China Morning Post that to speed up the group’s rescue efforts, he had “put up a satellite office near the casinos because [national police headquarters] Camp Crame is too far. Because of the traffic, we were unable to respond fast.”
Estomo said he would meet the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, the state gambling regulator, to see how police could better handle the situation.
“[We need to set up a complete operation] near all the casinos, especially those with many reported kidnappings, so we can quickly react to all [reports],” he said.
The police’s move comes two weeks after the Chinese embassy slammed Manila for undermining its efforts to crack down on cross-border gambling and pointed out “dozens of kidnappings and torture cases of Chinese citizens who gamble or work illegally in gambling entities in the Philippines”.
The Philippines gaming regulator on Monday said it would stop accepting applications for new online gaming operations at least until the end of the year, to review concerns about the sector.
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On Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing appreciated the actions of Cambodia and the Philippines.
“We hope the Philippines will go further and ban all online gambling. We hope it will further strengthen law enforcement with China and jointly tackle criminal activities including online gambling and cyber fraud.
“This will help create an enabling environment for our bilateral relations and peace and stability in the region,” he said.
In Bian’s case, police anti-kidnapping group spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Elmer Cereno on Tuesday said one suspect, Xu Libo, had been arrested and charged with kidnapping for ransom, while five others remained at large.
He said the group had thus far rescued 57 Chinese nationals who had been abducted by their compatriots, while 53 of the cases it had resolved over the past two years involved the casino industry.
Cereno said Bian, 25, told police he had borrowed 1.5 million pesos (US$28,600) from a casino financier named Ah Hua on the condition that whether he won or lost he would repay the sum with 500,000 pesos in interest.
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Bian lost all the money playing baccarat and alleged that once he could not make good on his debt, he was held captive in Manila’s Midas Hotel from July 29-31. Ah Hua then ordered him transferred to a “safe house” in Lancaster Condominium, Pasay City.
On August 11, four mainland Chinese men brought Bian to the Pasay City Police Station to file a complaint against him for non-payment of debt.
According to Cereno, this turned out to be a ruse for the men to secretly take a video of the victim behind bars, which they then sent to his family to pressure them to pay up.
Pasay City police confirmed that the incident took place when the duty investigator was busy, saying that the investigator released Bian minutes after he was put in the cell upon discovering there were insufficient grounds to detain him.
Cereno said follow-up operations to catch the rest of the perpetrators were under way.
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