Korean killed in Pasig robbery

MANILA, Philippines - A South Korean missionary was killed yesterday when he tried to resist a robbery in the boundary of Cainta and Pasig City.

The victim, Choe Tae Hwan, sustained gunshot wounds in the left arm and armpit and died on the spot.

Eastern Police District director Chief Superintendent Francisco Manalo immediately ordered the Pasig City police to track down the suspects, who fled towards Cainta town in Rizal province.

Manalo gathered that Choe fetched his fellow missionaries, Kim Jeong Suk, Cho Eun Hye, Han Jin Suk, Choi Ho Young, Kim Da Ean, Kim Hyou Sik and Kim Young Cun from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The seven missionaries arrived at 10:10 p.m. Sunday from South Korea and were on their way to Choe’s home in Cainta. With Choe behind the wheel, the South Koreans boarded a dark blue van (XEV-328).

While traveling along Ortigas Avenue Extension, in Barangay San Lucia right after the Gotesco Mall in the boundary of Cainta around 12:35 a.m., a white van, without license plate, and with more or less four suspects in it blocked the victims’ path.

Witnesses claimed that two of the suspects alighted and at gunpoint dragged Kim Young Cun (female) and Kim Hyou Sik (male) to the suspects’ vehicle.

Manalo said Choe tried to put up a fight but one of the suspects fired at him, hitting him thrice. The suspects fled toward Cainta with the two Kims. Elements of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) retrieved five empty shells and a live ammunition at the crime scene.

Manalo said the suspects later released the two Koreans in a street in Cainta.

Korean Consul Jung Soon Chul accompanied Kim Hyou Sik at the police station to shed light on the incident. In an interview, Jung said his countrymen were robbed of their cash, jewelry, cellphones and other personal belongings.

The motive for the attack was not clear, although kidnap-for-ransom gangs often target foreign tourists and businessmen in areas near Manila and in the provinces.

It was also unclear what the victims were doing in the Philippines.

Many South Koreans visit the Philippines as tourists and tens of thousands live and study in Manila and elsewhere.