Kidnapped Taiwanese couple rescued by ‘people power’
By Tonette Orejas, Inquirer
CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga -- Liu Kuo-shi bowed his head and placed his right hand on his chest in a gesture of gratitude, which he and his wife Hoduan Chin were unable to do in their rush to safety after 300 residents of a Zambales coastal village rescued them from kidnappers two days ago.
“At first they mistook us for thieves or for running away from our bills because we jumped out of the window of our cottage,” the 56-year-old Taipei-based trader told police through an interpreter. “When they understood that we were kidnapped, they came to our rescue. They encircled us, protected us from our pursuing kidnappers. That’s how we managed to escape.”
Senior Superintendent Arrazad Subong, deputy chief of the Zambales police, confirmed the rescue of the Taiwanese couple by villagers of Felmida Diaz in the municipality of Cabangan around 7 a.m. last Wednesday.
Liu and his wife were turned over to representatives of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office here on Wednesday night.
Police said the two were abducted immediately after their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on the night of Feb. 19 and were subsequently hidden in a cottage rented by the kidnappers at the Galinato Beach Resort in Zambales province.
“The couple managed to get the attention of the residents when they screamed and did sign language that they were in trouble. Others understood simply from the panic in the faces of the Lius,” Subong told the Inquirer.
The residents swarmed around the Taiwanese couple, making it impossible for three of the alleged kidnap suspects to get near them, Subong said, recalling the scene when he arrived at the village. He said the police were at the scene five minutes after Barangay captain Genardo Ofunda and Mayor Jesse Mendigorin called for help.
Although unable to speak a word of English, the couple were profuse in their gratitude to the villagers.
“We are thankful to them,” Liu said through an interpreter.
“I feel relaxed now,” Liu’s 59-year-old wife said, forcing a smile.
Two of the alleged kidnappers, identified as Bert Tupaz and a certain Darwin, escaped by boarding a Victory Liner bus, police said. Another suspect, Dante Perdigon, drove away in a van but was intercepted later at a checkpoint in Botolan town, also in Zambales.
Police are looking for the two escaped suspects and the alleged mastermind, a Taiwanese identified as Din Cheng Hsiang, also known as Andy Din.
Chief Superintendent Alejandro Lapinid, Central Luzon police director, told reporters that Din has links to a syndicate based in Taiwan but operates in the Philippines.
Din was negotiating an P80-million ransom through a contact in Taiwan but no payment had been made prior to the Lius’ escape. According to Subong, the police were at the scene five minutes after Ofunda and Mayor Mendigorin called for help, Lapinid said.
The Lius told police they first met Din at the NAIA where he fetched them. Handcuffed right after boarding a van, the Lius were taken to a safe house in Iba town, the Zambales capital.
The Lius lost US$15,000, NT$20,000 and their passports to the suspects, police said.
CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga -- Liu Kuo-shi bowed his head and placed his right hand on his chest in a gesture of gratitude, which he and his wife Hoduan Chin were unable to do in their rush to safety after 300 residents of a Zambales coastal village rescued them from kidnappers two days ago.
“At first they mistook us for thieves or for running away from our bills because we jumped out of the window of our cottage,” the 56-year-old Taipei-based trader told police through an interpreter. “When they understood that we were kidnapped, they came to our rescue. They encircled us, protected us from our pursuing kidnappers. That’s how we managed to escape.”
Senior Superintendent Arrazad Subong, deputy chief of the Zambales police, confirmed the rescue of the Taiwanese couple by villagers of Felmida Diaz in the municipality of Cabangan around 7 a.m. last Wednesday.
Liu and his wife were turned over to representatives of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office here on Wednesday night.
Police said the two were abducted immediately after their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on the night of Feb. 19 and were subsequently hidden in a cottage rented by the kidnappers at the Galinato Beach Resort in Zambales province.
“The couple managed to get the attention of the residents when they screamed and did sign language that they were in trouble. Others understood simply from the panic in the faces of the Lius,” Subong told the Inquirer.
The residents swarmed around the Taiwanese couple, making it impossible for three of the alleged kidnap suspects to get near them, Subong said, recalling the scene when he arrived at the village. He said the police were at the scene five minutes after Barangay captain Genardo Ofunda and Mayor Jesse Mendigorin called for help.
Although unable to speak a word of English, the couple were profuse in their gratitude to the villagers.
“We are thankful to them,” Liu said through an interpreter.
“I feel relaxed now,” Liu’s 59-year-old wife said, forcing a smile.
Two of the alleged kidnappers, identified as Bert Tupaz and a certain Darwin, escaped by boarding a Victory Liner bus, police said. Another suspect, Dante Perdigon, drove away in a van but was intercepted later at a checkpoint in Botolan town, also in Zambales.
Police are looking for the two escaped suspects and the alleged mastermind, a Taiwanese identified as Din Cheng Hsiang, also known as Andy Din.
Chief Superintendent Alejandro Lapinid, Central Luzon police director, told reporters that Din has links to a syndicate based in Taiwan but operates in the Philippines.
Din was negotiating an P80-million ransom through a contact in Taiwan but no payment had been made prior to the Lius’ escape. According to Subong, the police were at the scene five minutes after Ofunda and Mayor Mendigorin called for help, Lapinid said.
The Lius told police they first met Din at the NAIA where he fetched them. Handcuffed right after boarding a van, the Lius were taken to a safe house in Iba town, the Zambales capital.
The Lius lost US$15,000, NT$20,000 and their passports to the suspects, police said.
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