According to the Philippine World Daily: The main suspect in the 2018 murder case of businessman Dominic Sytin, his brother Alan Dennis Lim Sytin, was deported from Malaysia and arrived at Terminal 3 of Manila International Airport around 11:20 PM on April 11.
Philippine National Police spokesperson Fahardo reported that Alan Dennis Lim Sytin was escorted at Manila International Airport Terminal 3 around 11:20 PM on April 11, after being deported from Malaysia. He was wanted for the 2018 murder of his brother Dominic Sytin.
51-year-old Sytin, a businessman from San Juan City in Metro Manila, had his arrest warrant issued by a Manila court on September 1, 2020, with no bail recommended.
The International Criminal Police Organization issued a red notice for Dennis Sytin on January 24, 2020. Philippine police are also investigating how Dennis Sytin entered Malaysia despite his passport being canceled.
Fahardo also revealed that the Sytin family had offered a reward of ten million pesos for information leading to his capture, which played a significant role in pinpointing his hiding place.
On the evening of November 28, 2018, a Wednesday, at around 7 PM, it was already dark when an Audi car slowly stopped at the entrance of the Lighthouse Marina Resort, a five-star hotel in Subic, Philippines.
As the car door opened, a middle-aged man just got out and was suddenly ambushed by a gunman. "Bang, bang, bang!" Several gunshots were fired, hitting him in the head, chest, and legs, killing him instantly. After the act, the gunman covered his face with a handkerchief and calmly walked to a motorcycle, quickly fleeing the scene.
Mastermind Alan Dennis (Alan Dennis Lim Sytin)
This murder caused a huge uproar in the Philippines at the time, as the victim Dominic Sytin was a well-known and reputable Chinese businessman locally.
From Importing Used Cars to Business Tycoon
Dominic Sytin, the victim, was the founder and CEO of United Auctioneers Inc., headquartered in Subic, specializing in auctioning trucks and heavy equipment. He first made his mark in the Subic Bay Freeport in the early 2000s with his used car import business, quickly gaining market attention.
He imported right-hand drive used cars, trucks, and SUVs, converting them to left-hand drive before selling them. This business model was popular among consumers but also caused dissatisfaction among established industry players.
"The media call me a 'smuggler' every day, but what they don't report is that now, poor villages across the country can buy ambulances for as little as 100,000 pesos or even less," Sytin once said in an interview. He also revealed that some car manufacturers, affected by his sales, funded smear campaigns against him.
As his business expanded, Sytin's commercial empire covered multiple areas, including being the Philippine distributor for the Chinese automotive brand Foton trucks, a power generation project in Bukidnon, mobile phone distribution, and a resort hotel in Subic Bay. He even planned to consolidate his family business into a publicly listed company.
In 2018, Sytin, at the height of his career, was a guest of honor of then-President Duterte.
Sytin's close friend, then-chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Wilma Eisma, said, "Dominic was a very good person, a compassionate person, and you could see that in the way he treated people. (His death means) not just Subic, but the Philippines lost a good man."
In February 2018, Dominic Sytin (third from left) with then-President Duterte
In December 2018, Duterte attended Sytin's funeral
Brotherly Feud, The Mastermind Was His Own Kin
The murder of Dominic Sytin sparked various speculations. Was it a business rivalry or a personal vendetta? However, the police investigation revealed a shocking result.
Four months after the incident, on March 11, 2019, then-Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde announced that the police had successfully arrested the gunman, Edgardo Luib. Luib confessed to the murder, stating he was "hired to kill," but the real mastermind behind the scenes was Dominic's own brother—Alan Dennis Sytin!
Why would a brother hire a hitman to kill his own brother? The story goes back to their family business—United Auctioneers.
The Sytin family's United Auctioneers had five shareholders, each holding 20%: Dominic, Dennis, two other brothers, and their mother. However, Dominic and his brother Dennis had long-standing disputes over shares.
Dennis later planned to start his own company but was discovered embezzling funds from United Auctioneers. This action intensified the conflict between the two, culminating in Dennis being officially fired by United Auctioneers, controlled by his brother Dominic, on November 15, 2018.
This dismissal was the final spark in the worsening relationship between the brothers. Dennis, harboring resentment, soon found a former auction house employee, Ryan—Ryan had been fired by boss Dominic for embezzling company funds, sharing a common "enemy" with Dennis. The two conspired and planned the assassination of Dominic. They then contacted professional hitman Luib, promising to pay him one million pesos as a reward.
Driven by financial incentives, Luib planned this shocking gun murder. Ironically, according to police investigations, although Dennis offered one million for the murder, the actual amount paid to hitman Luib, after several subcontractings, was only 50,000 pesos!
In March 2019, gunman Luib was captured by the police
The Net of Heaven is Wide and Spacious, But No One Can Escape the Law
Not long after Luib's arrest, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Although the mastermind Dennis was exposed, he had already fled overseas and his whereabouts were unknown.
Over the years, the police continued to search for Dennis's whereabouts, even offering a reward of ten million pesos and marking him as the most wanted criminal in Central Luzon. Eventually, with the cooperation of the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP), the Philippine police successfully captured him.
Philippine National Police spokesperson Fahardo stated that this operation once again demonstrated that "the net of heaven is wide and spacious, but it is meticulous." She said, "You can run, but you can't hide forever. These arrests prove that no matter how long it takes, justice will eventually triumph over evil. I hope this arrest serves as a strong warning to all criminals—no matter where you hide, the light of justice will find you."
It is pointed out that brothers should have worked together to build their family business, but due to conflicts of interest, familial love was consumed by hatred, ultimately leading to a tragic fratricide. It is truly sad and lamentable!
