Money lending couple killed

OTON, ILOILO, Philippines --- An Indian couple, engaged in money lending business for a decade already, was found dead shortly after midnight Tuesday at the shore of Brgy. Poblacion East in this town.

Kaul Want Singh, 38, and his wife, Charmjet Kaul, 36, of Brgy. Tabuc Suba in Jaro district of Iloilo City, bore wounds on the head, which appeared to be struck by a hard object. "But we could not yet determine the immediate cause of their death pending an autopsy," said Sr. Insp. Jigger Gimeno, chief of Oton Police.

A member of the Barangay Information Network saw the bodies adrift at the seashore, but Gimeno believed that the victims were killed somewhere else. "The perpetrators apparently saw the opportunity to throw body in the area because if was dimly lit," he said.

It appeared that the killers dragged the bodies from the roadside and threw these to the sea. "Maybe, they were expecting that the bodies would be drifted to Guimaras island," he said. However, the water current and wind pushed the bodies ashore instead.

For now, Gimeno said they have no suspect or motive on the couple's death. "We talked to their friends and family. There was no known threat on the couple. They even attested that the victims have no known enemies. Maayo man kuno ni sila nga mga tawo," he said.

Investigators are now looking into the list of the couple's customers in the lending business to ascertain the places where they went to that day.

A number of robberies on Indian nationals who were into the "5-6 business" had been recorded in Iloilo province in the past although majority of the victims were left unharmed. 

Several years ago, the Indian Embassy in the Philippines already expressed concern on the spate of attacks against members of the Indian communities across the country, many of which were left unsolved.  (FREEMAN)