Man kidnaps 2 girls, forces them to beg on the streets

MANILA, Philippines - Pasay police officers are trying to track down a man who abducted two girls and forced them to beg on the streets for five days before demanding ransom from their parents, an official said yesterday.

“We are pursuing several leads on the identity” of the kidnapper, Senior Superintendent Napoleon Cuaton told The STAR.

He said the girls, aged five and seven, disappeared while playing near their home in Malibay at around 11 a.m. on Aug. 29. He said the parents initially reported the girls as missing but after five days, the parents said they received a text message demanding ransom for the girls.

The parents of the victims coordinated with the police, who negotiated for the release of the girls.

Cuaton said “the lone kidnapper demanded P10,000 but during the payoff” last Saturday, did not show up. The kidnapper “just left the girls near a fastfood” restaurant along Pablo Ocampo Sr. street, he said.

Cuaton said the girls told police the kidnapper forced them to beg on the streets in Manila under close watch. “At the end of the day, the (kidnapper) would collect the money and lock the children in a room,” he said.

Pasay City police investigators said the victims could no longer recall the places where they were brought to beg and where they were locked up at night during their captivity.