Abducted 6-year-old son of a businessman rescued

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Police and military security forces rescued Sunday a six-year old son of a businessman abducted in Zamboanga del Sur and arrested four suspects, who reportedly wanted to bargain the victim with the money they lost from investment scam, officials said.

Police Regional director Chief Superintendent Napoleon Estilles said the victim was a son of a businessman in Barangay San Jose Aurora town.

Two of the suspects were identified as Amran Maruhom Pulao, 24, and Aiman Maruhom Ampatua, 39, both residents of Barangay Kirapan, Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte. The names of the two others who were arrested hours later were not made available.

Investigation disclosed that the victim and his mother were riding on board a motorcycle when the suspects aboard on service van flagged them down about 7:30 a.m. Sunday in Aurora town.

Senior Superintendent  Romeo Uy, Zamboanga del Sur provincial police commander, believed that the target of the abduction was supposed to be the mother.

He said one of the suspects pistol whipped the mother on the head but managed to run away and left her son.

The suspects subsequently grabbed the boy and loaded him into the waiting getaway vehicle van that sped towards the Sultan Naga Dimaporo area.

However, alerted police from the Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC) and 3rd Light Armor Company of the Philippine Army immediately launched pursuit operation, leading to  the rescue of the victim almost three hours later and arrest of Pulao and Ampatua.

The two suspects, however, pointed to two other suspects the masterminds of the abduction.

Uy said succeeding follow-up operation led to the arrest of the two other suspects, who were placed under tactical interrogation.

The police official disclosed that the four suspects had allegedly been trying to exact payment of the money they lost as being “abay” (ride-on) to the victim’s father,  who was allegedly an investor in a scam recently.

Police said suspects have been harassing Solon for payment of the money they lost.

However,  the businessman turned down the suspects, saying that he was also a victim of the investment scam and that he lost more than P2-million, including the money of the suspects.

“Even if the boy was rescued, there was an attempted kidnapping because the suspects wanted to raise ransom in exchange for the money they lost from the victim’s father,” Uy said.