Kidnapped Tsinoy found dead

A 29-year-old Chinese-Filipino businessman who was abducted last Jan. 9 in Caloocan City has been found dead in Bulacan with two bullet wounds in the head, police officials said yesterday.

Northern Police District (NPD) director Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco Jr. said the body of Evan Tan was discovered by residents in a grassy area near the highway in Norzagaray, Bulacan at around 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

"We are closely working with Bulacan authorities for the early identification and arrest of the culprits," Franco said.

Tan, manager of a family-owned plastics firm, left his home in Caloocan City at about 11 p.m. last Jan. 9 and failed to return.

On Jan. 13, Tan’s car, a dark blue Toyota Corolla with license plates WJV-774, was found abandoned in a vacant lot in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, a few kilometers from where his body was found.

"We are certain it was not a kidnap-for-ransom case," Franco said, noting that Tan’s kidnappers never contacted his family. His relatives reportedly tried to reach him through his cell phone several times but got no answer.

Investigators from the NPD’s Scene of the Crime Office were unable to find any clue on the identities or motive of Tan’s killers.

Franco said Tan could have been transferred to another vehicle somewhere in Bulacan and his body dumped along the highway by his abductors.

"The victim’s vehicle was clean. We are looking into a business angle as the most probable motive for the killing," Franco said.

NPD agents drove to Bulacan yesterday to gather more information on Tan’s murder, in coordination with policemen from San Jose del Monte and Norzagaray.

In a related development, police held for questioning a possible sixth suspect in the kidnap and murder of Coca-Cola Export Corp. finance manager Betti Chua Sy last Nov. 18.

Raul Artoza was invited for questioning in Barangay Macanit, Jaro, Leyte Thursday afternoon after Waray-Waray gang leader Fernando Niegos who has been arrested earlier pinpointed him as one of his cohorts in Sy’s kidnap-slaying, Eastern Visayas police director Chief Superintendent Dionisio Coloma said.

He added that there is no pending warrant for Artoza in connection with the Sy case.

Coloma said Artoza has denied any involvement in Sy’s kidnapping during interrogation, though he admitted to being involved in some kidnap incidents in the past.

"We have reason to believe that he was involved despite his denials. It was Niegos who led us to him," he said.

Artoza is a cousin of 26-year-old Franco Artoza, alias Angko, who was arrested by the local police last Jan. 4 at his residence in Barangay Macanit.

Police said Franco admitted his participation in Sy’s kidnapping but not in the events that led to her death. He also said he was a new member of the Waray-Waray gang, and that he had recruited his cousin.

Police had a breakthrough in the case last year when Romeo Vallano surrendered to authorities and admitted that he drove the kidnappers’ getaway vehicle.

Police arrested two suspects, Ernesto Palla and Ramon Dimol, in Trece Martirez City in Cavite last November.

Suspects Lucencio Salientes and Niegos, both residents of Barangay Macanit, and Allan Neigas of Capookan, Leyte were arrested in subsequent operations.

The Leyte police also questioned another suspect, Leo Garrido, last Jan. 2, but later released him.

Police found the body of Sy, 32, wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a garbage bag near the sea front in Parañaque City, a day after she was seized by unidentified armed men in Quezon City.

President Arroyo reversed a nearly four-year moratorium on capital punishment a month after Sy’s murder due to pressure from the influential Chinese-Filipino community.

Independent statistics showed that Sy was the 156th kidnap victim last year, when abductions reached a 10-year high.

Meanwhile, the family of John Ross Gerolaga, a 17-year-old student from the University of the Philippines, is appealing to his abductors to release him or let them know what happened to him.

Gerolaga was abducted last Nov. 22 after he brought his girlfriend home to Morong, Rizal. The kidnapers initially demanded P5 million but this amount was later reduced.

Citizens Action Against Crime spokeswoman Teresita Ang-See said Gerolaga’s family "is still not cooperating with the police because they truly fear for their son’s safety. This appeal is simply a desperate hope that their son is somewhere out there, and that kind-hearted people will help the family search for their son." — With Christina Mendez