3 suspects in kidnap-slay of trader under custody

A Chinese national and two Filipinos implicated in the kidnapping and killing of Filipino-Chinese steel magnate Anson Que and his driver Armanie Pabillo are now under police custody, the Philippine National Police announced yesterday.

- EMMANUEL TUPAS

PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil named the suspects as Chinese David Tan Liao and two Filipino accomplices, Ricardo David and Raymart Catequista.

Liao, also known as Xiao Chang Jiang, Yang Jianmin and Michael Agad Yung, is reportedly a prominent figure within a muscle group of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

He surrendered yesterday to the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group and confessed to his participation in the crime.

He was involved in five other kidnapping cases, the earliest of which happened in 2022, all related to the POGO industry.

David and Catequista, meanwhile, were arrested in Barangay IV in Roxas, Palawan on Friday at around 3 a.m.

The suspects underwent inquest proceedings before the Department of Justice, where they were charged with criminal complaints for two counts of kidnapping for ransom with homicide.

Two other Chinese nationals believed to be principal suspects in the Que and Pabillo killing remain at large and are the subjects of a manhunt operation.