PAOCC: Chinese mob’s ‘muscle group’ grabbed student
Retired soldiers working as enforcers of Chinese mobsters linked to illegal online gaming operations carried out the recent kidnapping for ransom of a Chinese student of a foreign school, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said on Sunday.
In a radio interview, PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz disclosed that the ex-soldiers are on the Chinese underworld’s payroll to do their dirty work, including kidnap-for-ransom, extortion, and even murders.
“We are looking into this ‘muscle group’… we are investigating them. Of course, we are still in the process of verifying who is involved,” he said in Filipino.
“They serve as their muscle [henchmen]. If anyone defies the ‘POGO management,’ these guys will be dispatched to kidnap and torture them… they will capture this on video and then send it to the victim’s family until they pay up,” the PAOCC chief explained.
By POGO management, Cruz was referring to Chinese criminals now running illegal online gambling, which replaced the now-defunct Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators (POGOs) after President Marcos totally banned such activities last year.
As this developed, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said that Chinese national Wang Dan Yu alias “Bao Long,” who masterminded the Chinese student’s kidnapping, was wanted in his homeland for several crimes including murder, carnapping, and KFR.
He is also accused of shooting to death a fellow Chinese national after a drinking session turned into a quarrel in Makati City last October 17.
The Makati Police charged Wang with murder soon after the incident but he is believed to have gone into hiding outside the National Capital Region (NCR).
Makati Police Capt. Jenibeth Artista told the Manila Standard in a text message that Wang Dan Yu arrived in the country from Thailand in 2019 but said “there is no record that he [Wang] left the country.”
“He is a fugitive in several countries… He was also involved in the kidnapping incident, that’s why he is on the watch list of the Bureau of Immigration and he has a hold departure order,” Artista shared.
She said that the murder complaint filed against Wang is still with the prosecution.
Meanwhile, apparent inconsistencies in the account of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Anti-Kidnapping Group on the recovery of the 14-year-old student led to the sacking of its chief, Col. Elmer Ragay, according to the country’s top cop.
PNP chief, Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil explained that while the child was successfully returned to his family, it is also important to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident to placate the public and ensure the integrity of the PNP.
