Cops foil attempt to kidnap Chinese sexagenarian

MANILA, Philippines - Two men tried to kidnap a 69-year-old Chinese woman in Muntinlupa City Friday night but later left her unharmed when police officers set up a dragnet to catch them.

Chief Inspector Jenny Tecson, spokesman of the Southern Police District, said the woman was reportedly kidnapped at the Filinvest toll exit in Alabang at about 7:20 p.m.

Police said the victim and her driver were about to exit the tollgate when a white Honda Civic (ZIM-111) blocked their path. 

Two men alighted from the vehicle, introduced themselves as members of the National Bureau of Investigation, and demanded the driver surrender his driver’s license and cellular phone.

The kidnappers then dragged the driver out of the car and drove the vehicle towards the southbound lane of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

Officials of the Philippine National Construction Corp. alerted personnel at all SLEX exit points following Adona’s complaint. Police from Muntinlupa, San Pedro and Biñan in Laguna, launched a dragnet and recovered the victim at Southwoods in Biñan.

Senior Superintendent Romulo Sapitula, city police chief, told The STAR that the motive behind the abduction has yet to be established since the kidnappers abandoned the victim and left her unharmed. Investigators found that all the valuables inside the vehicle remained intact.

Police said the victim is jobless and her children are ordinary employees, but she has a daughter-in-law who reportedly owns a hardware shop. The same relative is believed to be owner of the vehicle that the victim used when she was abducted.

The victim has yet to give her account as she remains in shock after the incident, Sapitula said.