3 Chinese nabbed for illegal detention

MANILA, Philippines — Three Chinese were arrested in Parañaque on Friday for allegedly illegally detaining a fellow Chinese over a gambling debt, police said yesterday.

The victim, Zhou Qing, was detained by the three suspects after he lost P500,000 at a hotel casino, the Southern Police District (SPD) said yesterday.

Zhou managed to contact his girlfriend, Anne Rose Burca, who asked for assistance from the hotel’s security guards. This resulted in his rescue and the arrest of one of the suspects, Wang Dingding.

Two others, Ying Jian and Yong Jin Ong, tried to settle the case against Wang, but Zhou identified them as the ones who prevented him from leaving the hotel room.

The suspects allegedly threatened that they would sell Zhou to a Philippine offshore gaming operator if he failed to pay back his debt.

The SPD said the suspects would face charges of illegal detention.