2 Chinese convicted of kidnap for ransom
Published December 21, 2022, 3:00 PM
Two Chinese nationals have been convicted of kidnap for ransom by the Paranaque City regional trial court (RTC), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
The NBI, in a statement, said convicted were Zhihua Liu and Yuqiong Zhu who were found guilty of kidnapping their compatriot Zheng Xibing from whom they demanded about P1 million in 2020.
“On Dec. 2, 2022, the RTC, Branch 295, Paranaque City rendered judgment finding the two (2) accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Kidnapping for Ransom and were sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment without eligibility for parole,” the NBI said.
It said those found guilty were arrested by the NBI’s Task Force Against Illegal Drugs (NBI-TFAID) at Nuwa Hotel in the City of Dreams, Paranaque City on Dec. 13, 2020.
It said the NBI-TFAID acted on the report by Zheng Xibing’s friend on the kidnapping.
Quoting from the RTC’s decision, the NBI said: “The prosecution was able to establish the existence of all the elements of Kidnapping for Ransom, as the accused conspired, and willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously kidnapped Zheng Xibing and detained him inside a room at Nuwa Hotel, City of Dreams, Paranaque City for the purpose of ransom in the amount of RMB 136,000 equivalent to Php 1 Million.”