2 men missing after failed kidnap try on Indian

MANILA, Philippines - Two associates of an Indian national remain missing after armed men tried to kidnap the Indian in Pasay City on Dec. 20, 2010.

Relatives of Andy Bryan Ngie, 29, and Ferdinand Sales believe they are still alive, 12 days after the armed men commandeered a van they had been using, taking the two men with them.

According to reports reaching Chief Superintendent Jose Arne de los Santos, director of the Southern Police District (SPD), James Khumar, Ngie and Sales were on their way to the Pasay City police headquarters when they got caught in a traffic jam along Harrison Avenue at about 3:30 p.m. last Dec. 20.

Khumar, who had been kidnapped before, and his associates had just come from the Philippine National Police headquarters at Camp Crame to follow up on leads on his kidnappers.

The report said several armed men surrounded Ngie’s Masda Friendee van (BDM-479), but Khumar managed to get out and seek the help of Senior Inspector Renato Apolinario of the Pasay City police inspectorate office.

Khumar said one of the armed men introduced himself as a policeman. When Apolinario refused to turn over Khumar to the armed men, one of them shot at Apolinario, triggering a firefight.

Khumar was wounded in the right shoulder while Apolinario sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

Witnesses claimed that the armed men commandeered Ngie’s car and sped off. Pasay policemen set up checkpoints but failed to intercept the armed men.

Police theorize that Ngie and Sales were taken as hostages by the armed men following their failed attempt to abduct Khumar. The van remains missing.

Police officers from Pasay City, the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER) and the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) are working to locate and rescue Ngie and Sales, who have not made contact with their families since the day they disappeared.

Police are validating reports that Ngie had withdrawn P5,000 and P2,000 from an automated teller machine in Pangasinan a day after the failed kidnap try on Khumar, president of the Khalsadiwan Indian Sect Temple in Manila.