Gamblers in the Philippines should think twice before they seek loans from unverified sources.
That’s the word from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation, warning that loan sharks are not beyond kidnapping those who are late in making payments.
According to GGRAsia, the warning followed the arrests of five Chinese nationals and a Filipino-Chinese who allegedly abducted three people and held them against their will because they were in arrears on their gambling debts. The government reported that the victims were shaken down with their kidnappers demanding PHP7 million (US$135,000), which represented “the principal and interest of a casino loan for PHP1.5 million” (US$29 million).
Among the alleged abductors were Chinese nationals Junrong Jia, Xuejian Li and Quijin Tian. NBI officers rescued the three Chinese debtors, according to reports. The perpetrators face criminal complaints for kidnapping and violation of the Philippines’ Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998.
NBI Deputy Director Vicente de Guzman said the alleged victims were “lured” to gamble in casinos with the promise of getting paid to play. The victims were then ordered to call their families in China when they failed to pay up, Guzman noted.
Three other suspects in the case, identified as Peter Lim Santos, Wang Liping and Au Pang Liang, were arrested and charged with attempting to bribe NBI officers with an offer of PHP1 million in exchange for the release of their comrades, Philippine media reported.
NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin told the state-owned Philippine News Agency that in such instances “people playing in casinos should approach the hotel staff and security for help immediately.”
According to Inside Asian Gaming, the latest incident happened two years after Philippine authorities arrested 45 people involved with a loan sharking syndicate following the kidnapping of 48-year-old Singaporean Wu Yan.
