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MANILA – Police said on Thursday they had arrested 45 foreigners, mostly Chinese nationals, for kidnapping a Singaporean woman at a casino resort in the capital.
Believed to be a loan shark syndicate, the gang was targeting foreign high-rollers, with 11 similar cases reported since 2015 involving two groups composed of Chinese and Singaporean citizens, police said.
The 48-year-old Singaporean woman was kidnapped at the Solaire casino on July 17 and taken to a nearby hotel where she was beaten and threatened by her captors who demanded $180,000 — or P9 million — for her release, the Bureau of Immigration said in a separate report.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald Dela Rosa said the woman was rescued the next day.
The 45 suspects, facing charges for kidnapping for ransom with serious illegal detention, had undergone inquest proceedings.
Twenty-six of the foreign suspects failed to show proper immigration documents.
Nineteen more foreigners were arrested by the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group in a follow-up operation.
The victim identified 14 of her alleged kidnappers, including the three group leaders, Malaysians Ng Yu Meng and Goh Kok Keong and Chinese Zhang Fuxing.
Senior Superintendent Glenn Dumlao, chief of the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group, said they have also filed charges against syndicate leader Chen Dequin, who is now being hunted by authorities.
The Bureau of Immigration is reviewing the immigration documents of the suspects.
Solaire, which is owned by Bloomberry Resorts Corp, said on Thursday it does not tolerate loan sharks.
“Solaire continues to closely safeguard all its patrons to ensure their safety from unscrupulous personalities and activities even as it continues to coordinate and support government authorities in the fight against criminal activities,” it said in a statement. (Reuters and ABS-CBN News)
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