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NBI says kidnapped South Korean businessman is dead


Government agents located on Tuesday the funeral home where the dead body of a South Korean businessman was taken following his abduction in Angeles City last October 18.

Acting on a tip received on Monday night from unidentified informants, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) operatives went to the funeral parlor in Bagbaguin, Caloocan City, where the remains of Jee Ick Joo were allegedly brought on the same day he was kidnapped.

According to NBI Task Force Against Illegal Drugs chief Ruel Bolivar, the employees of the funeral home identified Jee when they were shown a photo of the businessman.

"Pinakita namin 'yung picture inidentify naman nila 'yung picture ng victim na the same person brought here," Bolivar told reporters.

The NBI, however, did not find Jee's remains during their search.

"Walang bangkay doon sa [funeral] parlor," Bolivar said.

Bolivar said they are considering the owner of the funeral parlor as person of interest in light of information that Jee's captors and the owner had communication even before the remains arrived.

Some P30,000 was reportedly paid to the owner, who is said to be out of the country, for the processing of the remains.

The NBI also questioned the circumstances on how Jee's body was brought to the funeral parlor.

"May proper procedure kasi sa pagtanggap ng [bangkay]. There must be a death certificate, something like that. You don't just dump a body sa funeral parlor. So 'yung circumstances kasi ng pagkaka-deliver ng body dito is highly suspicious," said NBI Task Force Against Illegal Drugs deputy chief Ross Jonathan Galicia.

"'Yung mga tao di na bumaba ng sasakyan, pinush nila yung body outside of the van," he added.

At a press conference last week, Choi Kyung Jin, Jee's wife, said eight armed men took her husband and some of their personal belongings from their home.

The couple's house help, Marissa Dawis, was also abducted. She was released the following day and is now the main witness in the case.

Choi said the kidnappers allegedly demanded a ransom of P8 million which was later reduced to P5 million following negotiations.

Accompanied by her nephew, Choi said she delivered the ransom money at a fast food restaurant in Angeles City on October 31, but her husband was not released. She admitted though that the kidnappers did not give proof that her husband was still alive when she gave the P5 million.

The kidnappers again asked for P4.5 million which Choi said she could no longer deliver. She said that the time she decided to tell the police about the ransom payment.

She also offered P100,000 reward for information about the whereabouts of Jee, a top executive in the Philippine operations of shipbuilding firm Hanjin.

SP03 Ricky Sta. Isabel, a policeman assigned at the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, is among those suspected to have been involved in the abduction, which gained traction as the suspects allegedly carried out the crime by doing a search operation in relation to the government's war on drugs.

Sta. Isabel, along with several respondents, is facing complaints for kidnapping for ransom and serious illegal detention before the Department of Justice (DOJ). He is currently under the protective custody of the NBI. —KBK, GMA News

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