On April 9th, Philippine police confirmed: a well-known overseas Chinese leader and businessman, Mr. Guo, was kidnapped and tragically killed.
According to a report by the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group, the bodies of Mr. Guo and his accompanying driver were discovered by local residents at 6 AM on April 9th in Sitio Udiongan, Macabud, Rodriguez, Rizal Province. It is suspected that they were tortured before death, with signs of being bound on the chest and arms.
The anti-kidnapping unit received the report at 2:15 PM. Preliminary investigations by the police indicated that the two bodies were placed in a nylon bag, tied with nylon rope, their faces bound with tape, and abandoned in the bushes along the road leading to Macabud.
At 3:36 PM, the driver's family confirmed the identity of the deceased, and the police subsequently notified Mr. Guo's family.
Source:
The family paid three ransoms totaling 210 million pesos, and despite seeking help from influential underworld figures, Mr. Guo was still killed, and the kidnappers spoke Mandarin.
Insiders revealed that the Guo family paid three ransoms, the first two totaling 60 million pesos during transactions at a casino, and the last payment of 150 million pesos was made at 5 PM the day before (April 8th), totaling 210 million pesos. The Mandarin-speaking kidnappers had promised to release him, but the family instead received tragic news from the police.
It is reported that Mr. Guo was kidnapped on March 29th; he was supposed to attend a banquet that evening but went missing, later reported to have been kidnapped along with his driver.
His Lexus LM350 multi-purpose vehicle was found abandoned on April 1st (Tuesday) in Bahay Toro, Quezon City.
Local residents told the police that around 4 PM on March 29th, two men in hoodies left the Lexus.
Sources also mentioned that the Guo family had sought help from some powerful gang leaders, but ultimately they could not secure Mr. Guo's safe release.
Profile:
Arrived in the Philippines 40 years ago, started from scratch to build a steel business, served as president of multiple Chinese business associations, and donated over 20 million to his hometown in Fujian.
Mr. Guo came to the Philippines in 1985 and started a steel trading company in the early 1990s, dealing in secondary steel materials. He later shifted to wholesale of steel profiles in partnership with others. Within a few years, his business flourished.
After achieving business success, Mr. Guo became active in various large Chinese associations in the Philippines, serving as the founding president of the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Philippine Qing Muslim Wuxing Association, chairman of the Philippine Fen Yang Guo Clan Association, chairman of the Philippine Alumni Federation, honorary president of the Philippine Fujian General Chamber of Commerce, honorary president of the Philippine Restaurant Chamber of Commerce, honorary director of the Filipino-Chinese Amity Association, president of the Philippine Yongchun Fellow Countrymen Association, president of the World Yongchun Societies Federation, director of the Philippine Hongmen Progressive Party Headquarters, and president of the Filipino Quanzhou Public Association.
In addition, a Fujian official media once reported that Mr. Guo, originally from Yongchun, Fujian, "has donated more than 20 million yuan to his hometown since 1985."
Kidnapper clues:
The police are investigating whether the case is related to the previous kidnapping of a Chinese student at a British school in Manila, and it is rumored to be caused by a dispute over a POGO lease.
According to an English news website, Mr. Guo might have been kidnapped by a group involved with illegal online gambling (POGO), who previously paid millions of dollars in deposit to rent a building owned by Mr. Guo in Bulacan Province. It is alleged that when the lease deal fell through, the group demanded a 50% refund, which Mr. Guo refused.
