China urges ‘severe punishment’ for killers of citizen in Philippines

Chinese victim and Chinese-American were kidnapped and killed late last month, according to China’s embassy in Manila

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Reports say the two victims, who travelled together to the Philippines on business, were killed on June 24 after one of their families had paid a ransom to the kidnappers. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:22pm, 2 Jul 2024Updated: 4:30pm, 2 Jul 2024

China has urged the Philippines to find and “severely punish” the killers of a kidnapped Chinese citizen in a case that has led to a diplomatic intervention by Beijing.

The Chinese embassy in Manila said it had been informed a few days ago that the person had been kidnapped in the Philippines, and it assisted the family in reporting the case to the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Bureau.

It also intervened through diplomatic channels to ask for a rescue and that measures be taken to ensure the person’s safety, according to a statement from the embassy on Tuesday.

But the person was eventually killed, along with a Chinese-American who had also been kidnapped, the embassy said. Neither victim has been identified, and authorities in the Philippines have not commented on the incident.

“We urge the Philippines to intensify efforts to investigate the case, capture and severely punish the murderers as soon as possible,” China’s embassy said in the statement.

One of the victims was an international marketing director of Hong Kong-listed company Raimed Medical Limited, and the other worked as a distributor for a cardiovascular medical device company, Yicai Global, a financial news outlet under Shanghai Media Group, reported, citing a source. Raimed has not commented on the incident.