2 kidnap gang men get life

MANILA, Philippines - Two members of a gang responsible for the kidnapping of a Chinese architect in 2008 were sentenced yesterday to life imprisonment by a Quezon City court.

Judge Henri Inting found Rayan Domla and Christopher Nanson guilty of kidnapping Ka Kuen Chua.

Court records showed that on Sept. 10, 2008, Chua had just parked his car in front of his house in Tandang Sora Avenue when the kidnappers appeared.

At gunpoint, the kidnappers forced the victim to get out of his car and dragged him to their getaway vehicle.

The kidnappers brought Chua to their hideout in Novaliches where they instructed him to call his sister and demanded from her a P70 million ransom.

The victim’s family told them they could not raise the amount, prompting the kidnappers to reduce the ransom to P300,000 which was deposited in Chua’s ATM account.

Chua was rescued unharmed after 17 days in captivity when the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (PACER) then under Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina conducted an operation against the kidnappers.

During the rescue operations, two of the kidnappers of Chua were killed in a shootout with police while Domla and Nanson were arrested.

Another accused, Christopher Olaguer, remained at-large up to this day. – Rhodina Villanueva, Cecille Suerte Felipe