By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA – One of the principal suspects in the kidnap-slay of Filipino-Chinese steel magnate Anson Que and his driver was arrested in a police operation in a resort in Boracay island over the weekend, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said Wenli Gong alias Kelly Tan Lim was with a certain Wu Ja Ping, who helped her hide, when they were arrested on Saturday afternoon.
PNP’s Joint Anti-Kidnapping Committee (JAKAC) chief, Lt. Gen. Edgar Alan Okubo, said the operation was a result of the intelligence-gathering and surveillance after Gong’s name came out as the primary suspect in the killing of Que and his driver, Armanie Pabillo.
“Under custody na po natin si Kelly na alam po natin na malaki ang naging papel sa naging pagkidnap at eventually pagpatay kay Anson Que at ginoong Armanie Pabillo (We now have Kelly under custody as we know she played a major role in the kidnapping and eventual murder of Anson Que and Mr. Armanie Pabillo),” Fajardo said.
“Naniniwala tayo na maraming information. Sa ngayon ay hindi nagsasalita si Kelly (We believe she has a lot of information. Right now, Kelly has yet to speak), and we already sought the assistance po ng ating (of our) foreign counterparts from the Chinese Embassy to help ferret out the truth.”
Fajardo said police operatives recovered a full-head mask, which is believed to have been used to conceal Gong’s identity as they tried to elude the arrest.
“Lumalabas na hairdresser itong si Jang Ping na allegedly na siya ang tumulong kay Kelly (It turns out that Jang Ping is the hairdresser who allegedly helped Kelly),” she said.
Gong has a PHP10-million bounty on her head over her alleged involvement in Que’s case.
“Considered solved na po itong kaso (This case is considered solved), considering the majority, if not all, the main players were taken into custody and criminal cases were already filed before the DOJ (Department of Justice),” Fajardo said.
“Hindi po closed because ongoing pa po ang pagti trace natin with respect sa ransom money dahil ang objective natin ay mabawi itong napakalaking pera na ibinayad ng family (It is not closed because our tracing with respect to the ransom money is still ongoing because our objective is to recover this huge amount of money that the family paid).”
Gong, according to David Tan Liao, who was identified as the mastermind of the incident, was used as bait to entice the primary victim, Que, to visit a residential house where victims were allegedly killed on April 8, a day before their bodies were found in a side street in Rodriguez, Rizal.
She also allegedly negotiated with Que’s family for the ransom payout and was responsible for converting the money to cryptocurrency.
Gong reportedly “orchestrated the transfer of the ransom money from one e-wallet to another before the money was converted to cryptocurrency.”
The PNP earlier said the money was transferred through two junket operators in the country.
Que’s family reportedly paid PHP200 million ransoms in cryptocurrency in multiple tranches.
Fajardo said that of the total ransom money, USD205,000 (PHP11.4 million) has already been frozen through the efforts of the Anti-Kidnapping Group and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
Tan Liao, along with two Filipino suspects, Richardo Austria David and Raymart Catequista, are now under police custody. The other primary suspect, identified as Jonin Lin, remains at large. (PNA)
