Chinese siblings kidnapped and forced into telecom fraud! Performance requirement: 3 million pesos per month.

The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) reported on January 8 that police successfully rescued two Chinese nationals in General Trias City, Cavite Province, and arrested two Chinese suspects involved in kidnapping and illegal detention.

The suspects, identified as Zhou and Juncheng, were charged with kidnapping Chinese siblings Yuanjie and Yuanhao, and forcing them to work in a suspected fraud center. The victims revealed that they were required to obtain at least 3 million pesos (about 50,000 USD) per month through telecommunications fraud, or else face threats. However, since they were the only staff working at the center, they were unable to meet the "performance" targets.

The suspects then demanded a ransom of 450,000 pesos from the victims' family as a condition for their release. A friend of the victims, Mak, alerted the police upon learning of the situation, prompting a rescue operation.

On the evening of January 6, around 11:15 PM, the PNP-CIDG conducted a raid in Cavite, successfully rescuing the victims and seizing items at the scene, including genuine and counterfeit money, a pistol, magazines, and bullets.

Currently, Zhou and Juncheng are charged with violating Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code (Kidnapping and Serious Illegal Detention) and the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act (Republic Act No. 10591), and the case has entered the preliminary hearing stage. The police stated that they would further investigate whether the case involves a larger-scale transnational telecommunications fraud syndicate.

The victims have been placed in a secure location and are receiving relevant protection and assistance. The police remind the public to stay vigilant to avoid falling into similar scams and encourage those with information to actively provide leads to help combat criminal activities.