Korean nabbed for kidnapping

ARRESTED. Operatives of the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group present kidnapping suspect Na Jin Suk on Wednesday (Jan. 22, 2020). The suspect was arrested in an operation on Tuesday in the kidnapping of his compatriot identified as Kim Byeong Mo. (Photo courtesy of PNP-AKG via PNA)

MANILA — A South Korean national was arrested for abducting his compatriot in Manila.

Lt. Col. Villaflor Bannawagan, Luzon Field Unit chief of the Philippine National Police-Anti Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG), identified the suspect as Na Jin Suk, 36.

The operation stemmed from the request of the South Korean police for assistance on the reported kidnapping of 19-year-old Kim Byeong Mo conveyed through their Embassy.

The victim was rescued by operatives of the AKG and the Manila Police District (MPD) in an establishment in Concepcion Street in Ermita at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

Kim arrived in the Philippines on Monday to work at a company where his college senior offered him a job. He was welcomed by Na and two other suspects and was brought to the Gotesco Towers where he was asked to surrender his mobile phone and passport.

Kim later found out that the company that hired him was involved in a voice phishing scheme, which aims to extort money from people.

He was held captive in a room by the suspects when they caught him calling his mother in South Korea.

The suspect is now under police custody for documentation and disposition while the identities of his cohorts have yet to be determined.