The Chinese Government has jailed four suspected kidnappers for allegedly kidnapping one person and demanding “hundreds of bitcoins” as a ransom payment.
While the claimed kidnapping is said to have occurred in the Philippines, the two countries’ collaboration finally led to the Chinese kidnappers’ arrest and eventual sentencing.
According to the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, four Chinese individuals have been arrested and charged with kidnapping and seeking bitcoin as a ransom payment. Two of the defendants, Liu and Zhang, were sentenced to eight and twelve years in jail, respectively. Cong and Jia, the surviving two, were given life sentences.
The four are suspected of kidnapping an individual identified as “Su” in the Philippines in August 2019, according to a statement made by the Embassy. The kidnappers demanded “hundreds of bitcoins,” which are worth over $3.1 million or more than 20 million yuan, in exchange for Su’s safe return.
The Embassy and local law enforcement launched a manhunt for Su’s kidnappers as a result of the kidnapping. The four accused were eventually apprehended and brought to court in 2019, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, the Embassy reaffirmed the Chinese government’s zero tolerance for all illegal and criminal acts, such as online gambling, telecoms fraud, and kidnappings, in the same statement. The Embassy also issued a warning to Chinese residents living in the Philippines, claiming that the Chinese government’s cooperation with its counterpart would ensure that all Chinese lawbreakers in the Philippines would be prosecuted.
