Chinese nabbed for stealing cars from rental firms

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested a Chinese national who reportedly rents and steals cars from car rental companies.

In a press conference held yesterday at the NBI headquarters, Director Nestor Mantaring said Gong Feiping, 35, alias Gong Fei Ping and Hyeong Seon Pak, reportedly used a Korean passport to rent a Honda Civic from a car rental firm last July 7, but never returned it.

The car rental firm later found that the passport was reported as lost in 2004 and that Gong tampered with it.

The car rental firm circulated reports of the incident to other firms in the industry and photos of the suspect.

On Aug. 27, Hanscomb rent-a-car services informed the other rent-a-car company about Gong, who was trying to rent a vehicle from them.

This prompted the firms to seek assistance from the NBI, which set a trap for Gong. An NBI agent posed as a Hanscomb representative assigned to deliver a Fortuner SUV for a rental fee of P7,000 a day. The delivery was set at a hostel on Adriatico street in Manila.

The NBI agents seized several identification cards in different names, all bearing Gong’s photograph. Among the identification cards he presented was a genuine Philippine driver’s license using a different name.

The NBI recommended that Gong be charged with car theft and the use of falsified documents before the Manila prosecutor’s office. – Sandy Araneta