Police Officers in the Philippines Arrested for Kidnapping 4 Tourists and Demanding Ransom

On June 5, 2024, four police officers assigned to the Philippine capital region were arrested for kidnapping and ransoming four foreign tourists.

According to officials, two of the officers on motorcycles flagged down a car carrying three Chinese and one Malaysian tourist over the weekend. Their armed civilian accomplices then handcuffed and forced the tourists into a van.

Two of the Chinese tourists managed to escape and notify the authorities. The remaining captives were beaten by the kidnappers but released overnight after a 2.5 million peso (approximately $43,100 USD) ransom was paid.

Information from the freed tourists and security camera footage led to the arrest of the four police officers, including a police major. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos expressed shock that police were involved, calling it a "serious breach of public trust and core values of the police force."

Police are still searching for at least 10 other suspects who were not police officers but were implicated in the kidnapping. Criminal complaints for kidnapping, carjacking and robbery have been filed against the arrested suspects.

This incident comes amid a history of corruption and abuse within the Philippine National Police. Former President Rodrigo Duterte had previously described many members of the police force as "rotten to the core," though he tasked them with enforcing his deadly anti-drug crackdown.

The International Criminal Court has been investigating large-scale killings by Philippine police under Duterte as potential crimes against humanity. Both Duterte and former police chiefs have denied authorizing extrajudicial killings, though the former president threatened drug suspects with death during his presidency.

菲律賓警察被捕控誘拐4名遊客並勒索贖金

2024年6月5日,4名分派到菲律賓首都地區的警察被捕,控告他們參與誘拐4名外國遊客並勒索贖金。

據官方消息,週末有2名警察在電單車上攔下一輛載有3名中國人和1名馬來西亞遊客的豪華車。他們的民間槍手隨後將遊客們銬上手銬,強行押上一輛廂型車。

2名中國遊客成功逃脫,並通知了當局。其餘遊客則遭到綁匪毆打,但在支付250萬披索(約合4.31萬美元)贖金後獲釋。

獲釋遊客提供的資訊和監控攝像頭畫面,最終導致4名警察(包括1名警官)被捕。內政部長貝恩·阿巴洛斯表示,他對警察參與其中感到震驚,稱這是對公眾信任和警隊核心價值的嚴重違背。

警方表示,他們仍在繼續搜捕至少10名非警察人員,他們也涉嫌參與綁架活動。他們已就誘拐、搶劫車輛和搶劫等罪名對嫌疑人提起刑事指控。

這一事件再次凸顯了菲律賓國家警察隊內部存在腐敗和濫權問題。前總統羅德里戈·杜特爾特曾形容警隊中很多人"已經腐敗到了骨子裡",儘管他仍然命令警隊執行他的毒品問題致死行動。

國際刑事法院一直在調查杜特爾特任內菲律賓警察大規模殺害行為,認為其可能構成危害人類罪。儘管杜特爾特和前任警察局長均否認授權實施任何非法處決行為,但前總統曾公開威脅毒品犯死刑。