PNP: Reward money for suspect in Que kidnap-slay raised to P10M
The reward money for any information leading to the arrest of one of the suspects in the kidnapping and murder of Chinese businessman Anson Que and his driver Armanie Pabillo has been raised to P10 million, the Philippine National Police said.
Wenli Gong, also known as Kelly Tan Lim, was allegedly used by mastermind David Tan Liao to lure Que to the place where he was held and killed. She also facilitated the transfer of the ransom money paid by the businessman’s family to those holding him, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said in a press briefing on Monday.
The initial reward for Gong was P5 million. She was last spotted in Boracay on April 21.
Que, whose legal name is Anson Tan, and Pabillo were found dead on April 9 in Rodriguez, Rizal, after they went missing on March 29.
3 suspects in custody
Late last month, the PNP took custody of suspects Liao, Richardo Austria David (also known as Richard Tan Garcia), and Raymart Catequista. David and Catequista were first arrested in Roxas while Liao later surrendered to the police.
The PNP identified two casino junket operations—9 Dynasty Group and White Horse Club—that were used to deposit the ransom money paid by the family of Que. The funds were transferred from one e-wallet account to another before being converted into cryptocurrency.
“That’s currently our problem. They can make e-wallet accounts any time, any second so they can transfer the money,” PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil said in the same press briefing.
Untraceable money
“Cash is no longer the trend these days but e-wallets and cryptocurrency. In fact, once money goes into the blockchain, you can no longer trace it,” he said.
Chinese national Li Duan Wang or Mark Ong from Fujian, whose Filipino citizenship bid was earlier vetoed by President Marcos, has links to the 9 Dynasty Group.
Fajardo said that one of the accounts under the junket operators belonged to a certain Lin Ning, who had earlier transactions with Ni Qinhui, one of the five suspects arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation on Feb. 26 for alleged espionage.
