Korean man eyed in Roxas Boulevard slay

MANILA, Philippines - Manila police investigators are eyeing a Korean man as a suspect in the killing of a Chinese woman who was jogging along Roxas Boulevard before dawn on Jan. 14, an official said yesterday.

The woman – identified by Chinese embassy consul Wang Xiao Bo as Zhao Chun Lan, a native of Gan Su province in China – died after she was run over by a car, whose driver then repeatedly stabbed her. The attack happened while she was jogging along Roxas Boulevard in front of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) at around 4:15 a.m.

The identity of the victim was furnished by a man Wang was able to contact from a list of names from the woman’s cell phone memory card. However, the man hung up when pressed for further information about the victim, according to Police Officer 3 Charles Duran.

Witnesses said Zhao was a frequently seen jogging along Roxas Boulevard, with a man driving a black car following her as she went through her route.

On Jan. 14, Zhao and the man were observed arguing with each other until the man boarded the car and deliberately hit her. He then got out of the car and stabbed her as she lay on the pavement. The man got back into the car, ran over the unconscious victim, then sped off toward A. Mabini street.

Zhao later died at the Ospital ng Maynila.

Duran said the attack was caught on video by a surveillance camera at the BSP building.

Land Transportation Office records show the car, a Nissan Cefiro with plate number XAY-741, is registered under the name of Ok Jung Kwang, a Korean man whose address in Makati City turned out to be a Korean restaurant named San Sung. The owner, another Korean named Jung Jae Yeol, told police he does not know Ok. He said that Ok might be one of several Korean nationals who use the restaurant address in their immigration papers since the second floor of the building is a Korean chapel.