The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines reported on 7 July that a total of seven kidnapping cases involving Chinese citizens occurred in the Philippines in the first half of this year. Although the number of cases dropped by 36% compared to the same period last year, some cases were linked to online gambling, it stated.
The Embassy claimed via its official WeChat account that among these seven cases, four victims were released after their families paid a ransom. Another person managed to escape while detained, another successfully escaped after a large sum of money was transferred by the perpetrators and in another case the victim was released after the kidnappers failed to extort a ransom.
The embassy pointed out that these cases share several common characteristics, including that the victims were all Chinese nationals who have been working, living or studying in the Philippines for a long time. The kidnappers were also Chinese nationals and the crime scenes were concentrated in Manila and its surrounding areas.
The report stated that some cases were related to online gambling, telecom fraud and debt disputes, while others stemmed from situations such as social media dating, job hunting and arranging driving lessons.
The Chinese Embassy stated that in the first half of this year, China and the Philippines jointly apprehended and deported 56 criminal suspects of mainland Chinese nationality, including four kidnappers. It emphasized that it would continue to assist the law enforcement agencies of both countries in combating various types of transnational criminal activities.
In recent years, China and the Philippines have strengthened police and law enforcement cooperation. According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, the Philippine police handed over Shi Chunfang, a suspect involved in multiple kidnapping and murder cases, to the Chinese side last December. He was subsequently escorted back to China by the Fujian public security authorities.
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