A Taiwanese man who was kidnapped in the Philippines, allegedly over a debt, was rescued by police on New Year’s Eve, the Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) said on Saturday.
A rescue operation was launched after the police received information from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Manila on Wednesday that a 26-year-old man, surnamed Chen, had been kidnapped in Paranaque, Metro Manila.
The PNP-AKG said it had initially been unable to find Chen in the city, but on Thursday had been able to track where the kidnappers had taken him to an address in Imus, in coastal Cavite province.
It did not say how Chen was located, but said that he was receiving medical treatment after being severely beaten by the kidnappers.
The abductors have been identified as two Chinese nationals, who have been arrested, the police said.
They pair had reportedly demanded a ransom of 9 million pesos (US$186,208), the police said.
TECO officials said the victim’s mother had contacted the office on Wednesday for help after receiving a telephone call from her son on Sunday last week saying that he had been kidnapped.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau in Taipei said that Chen, who worked for a gambling firm in the Philippines, had allegedly been kidnapped by two Chinese colleagues over a debt.
The abductors sent Chen’s mother a video clip of him being beaten and demanding a ransom, TECO said.
Official data showed that from 2018 to the end of last year, 33 Taiwanese based in the Philippines who were kidnapped or held against their will over gambling-related disputes, debts or inability to pay high-interest loans have sought help from TECO in Manila.
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