Shocking moment screaming Chinese saleswoman is 'kidnapped after upsetting her bosses at gambling firm'
- 5 years ago
This is the shocking moment a screaming Chinese saleswoman is allegedly kidnapped after upsetting bosses at a shady gambling firm in the Philippines.
The young woman was walking by an office in the upmarket Makati City business district in the capital Manila on Monday night (December 12) when two men in face masks grabbed her.
Terrified onlookers heard the woman screaming ''help'' but were too scared to intervene in case the alleged kidnappers were armed.
Police believe she had been working at a secretive Chinese gambling firm targeting international customers but angered her employers, who retaliated by dragging her into a van and kidnapping her.
An eyewitness, who refused to be named, said that he saw two men inside the van, a silver Chrysler Town and Country 2010, who were wearing face masks.
He said: "At first I thought it was a lovers quarrel, but when the woman started screaming, we knew it was something else. We called for help because we thought they could have been carrying guns."
The people carrier was seen speeding away with doors still open when a security guard ran towards the vehicle to try and help the woman but it was too later.
Makati Police chief Colonel Rogelio Simon said they are probing several Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGO) run by Chinese companies in connection with the incident. The shady organisations run online gambling syndicates from the country but target international customers.
The police chief said: "Such cases are usually related to POGO, which are online companies with Chinese employees here in the Philippines. There have been previous cases where employees have had problems with the companies and it resulted in situations like this.
''Based on our investigations and interview, the victim is Chinese, a female Chinese, and who, on our assessment, is withholding her identity because she was wearing a face mask so she could not be identified.''
The Makati Police also said that the woman seemed to know her abductors because she did not struggle until they forced her inside the van.
An envelope with photocopies of Chinese passports and vehicle sale records was found on the scene. They were able to trace the van's plate number, but it was registered under a different vehicle with no criminal record, so officers believe the plates had been stolen and switched.
The police will invite the people who own the photocopied Chinese passports for questioning. The city's security cameras are also being reviewed to located where the van went.
The young woman was walking by an office in the upmarket Makati City business district in the capital Manila on Monday night (December 12) when two men in face masks grabbed her.
Terrified onlookers heard the woman screaming ''help'' but were too scared to intervene in case the alleged kidnappers were armed.
Police believe she had been working at a secretive Chinese gambling firm targeting international customers but angered her employers, who retaliated by dragging her into a van and kidnapping her.
An eyewitness, who refused to be named, said that he saw two men inside the van, a silver Chrysler Town and Country 2010, who were wearing face masks.
He said: "At first I thought it was a lovers quarrel, but when the woman started screaming, we knew it was something else. We called for help because we thought they could have been carrying guns."
The people carrier was seen speeding away with doors still open when a security guard ran towards the vehicle to try and help the woman but it was too later.
Makati Police chief Colonel Rogelio Simon said they are probing several Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGO) run by Chinese companies in connection with the incident. The shady organisations run online gambling syndicates from the country but target international customers.
The police chief said: "Such cases are usually related to POGO, which are online companies with Chinese employees here in the Philippines. There have been previous cases where employees have had problems with the companies and it resulted in situations like this.
''Based on our investigations and interview, the victim is Chinese, a female Chinese, and who, on our assessment, is withholding her identity because she was wearing a face mask so she could not be identified.''
The Makati Police also said that the woman seemed to know her abductors because she did not struggle until they forced her inside the van.
An envelope with photocopies of Chinese passports and vehicle sale records was found on the scene. They were able to trace the van's plate number, but it was registered under a different vehicle with no criminal record, so officers believe the plates had been stolen and switched.
The police will invite the people who own the photocopied Chinese passports for questioning. The city's security cameras are also being reviewed to located where the van went.