Suspect in Roxas Boulevard murder falls

MANILA, Philippines - Manila policemen arrested Thursday night the prime suspect in the killing of a Chinese woman who was jogging along Roxas Boulevard on Jan. 14.

Manila Police District (MPD) director Chief Superintendent Alex Gutierrez said 26-year-old Gong Zhu Yan, alias Win Ke and Jacky Yang, was captured by operatives of the homicide section, led by Senior Inspector Joey de Ocampo, in his room at the EGI Tower condominium along Taft Avenue at around 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

De Ocampo said Gong initially denied killing his girlfriend, Zhao Chun Lan, a native of Gan Su province in China. However, when he was shown a video clip taken by a closed-circuit television camera of the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas, he murmured, “Kita pala ako (I was seen),” according to homicide section deputy chief Senior Inspector Maeng de la Cruz.

The victim was a frequent early morning jogger along Roxas Boulevard, according to a street sweeper. She was always escorted by a Chinese-looking man driving a black Nissan Cefiro (XAY-741).

The video documented the entire attack, starting with Zhao and Gong in a heated argument. Gong got into the car and hit the victim, then stabbed her repeatedly while she lay on the pavement. He returned to the vehicle and ran over his unconscious girlfriend twice. Zhao later died at the Ospital ng Maynila.

De Ocampo and his men recovered the car at the fifth floor parking area of the condominium with a new license plate (WSX-384). A woman claimed yesterday that the license plate was stolen from her car while it was parked in Makati City on Jan. 21.

Gong, a businessman and a frequent visitor to the Philippines for over two years, said he bought the car for P220,000 from his Korean friend, Ok Jung Kwang.

Different stories

In halting Filipino, Gong told The STAR he killed Zhao because she threatened to contact her friends and have them kill his family in the Philippines.

On the day of the killing, Gong said Zhao demanded P1.3 million after she aborted their baby in China. 

However, an informant who went to the MPD yesterday told police Gong was lying. He said Gong forced Zhao to have their baby aborted in China and stole more than 200,000 RMD (equivalent to P1.3 million) from the victim while they were in China and she was only asking that he return the money.

He also said the Chinese community in the Philippines deplored the killing and wants justice for the killing of Zhao, whose father – reportedly a town mayor – is set to arrive in the Philippines next week to claim her body.  – With Sandy Araneta