Ma, son freed by kidnappers

A mother and her son, who were kidnapped along with Korean nationals in Makati two weeks ago, have been freed unharmed by their kidnappers in Manila last Sunday.

The victims, whose names were withheld pending investigation, were unharmed when policemen found them near the Pedro Gil station of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) on Taft Avenue, Manila at around 4:55 p.m. last Sunday.

Senior Police Office 4 Diosdado Lagajino of the Western Police District-General Assignment Section (WPD-GAS) could not disclose other details of the case, which was referred to the police in Makati City, where the case of kidnappings originated.

Police have yet to determine if the victims’ family paid ransom before the abductors released them.

Lagajino said based on information they received, the 24-year-old mother, her two-year-old son and two other relatives, both Korean nationals, were abducted by still unidentified men outside a shopping center in Makati City last April 12.

After eight days of captivity, the mother and her son were freed. However, the mother claimed that one of the Koreans was killed in Parañaque City while the other remains in the custody of the kidnappers.

Parañaque police records showed that the most recent Korean national killed in the city was identified as Byung Rae Kim-Rabello, a widow. The woman was reportedly robbed and killed inside a church in the city.

Police are still looking into the link of the abduction and the killing.