MANILA (UPDATED) – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said it is not yet clear whether the son of Chinese businessman and kidnap-slay victim Anson Que, also known as Anson Tan, was involved in the crime.

Family says Anson Que had no business ties with POGOs

In a media briefing at Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson BGen. Jean Fajardo said investigators were still gathering information to corroborate the alleged involvement of Que’s 42-year-old son, Ronxian Gou or Alvin Que, as reported by media citing the extrajudicial confession of arrested suspect David Tan Liao.

Fajardo confirmed that Liao had implicated Alvin Que as the person who allegedly ordered him to kidnap and kill his father.

She was quick to clarify though that the PNP was not taking Liao’s testimony at face value and was assessing his possible motives, such as misleading investigators to avoid criminal liability.

“We do not accept hook, line, and sinker the allegation of David Tan Liao. For all we know, he’s just saying this to exculpate himself,” Fajardo said, noting that the suspect had previously been involved in other kidnap-slay cases.

“We have to be cautious, we have to be careful, and very thorough in investigating this because there is a possibility that David Tan Liao is pointing to someone else just to gain leverage against the true mastermind—if there is any,” she added.

Fajardo said the younger Que was cooperating with the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group and voluntarily submitted his cellphone for forensic and scientific examination “with the objective of clearing his name.”

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Liao surrendered to police on April 19, following the arrest of his two Filipino cohorts in Roxas, Palawan, and admitted to his involvement in the crime.

Investigators revealed that the kidnapping and killing were orchestrated by Liao, a Chinese national also known by aliases “Xiao Chang Jiang,” “Yang,” “Jianmin,” and “Michael Agad Yung.”

Fajardo added that Liao has yet to present any solid evidence linking Alvin Que to the crime.

“May mga sinasabi po siya doon sa kanyang statements, including the alleged meeting with the son. And even the physical, and even the calls, wala po siyang mai-present,” Fajardo said.

(He mentioned several things in his statements, including an alleged meeting with the son. But even physical evidence or phone calls—he has not presented anything.)

“We want to make sure this is backed up by other pieces of evidence," she added,

Meanwhile, initial investigations showed that Alvin Que acted as the family’s negotiator while Anson Que and his driver were held by the kidnappers.

He reportedly transferred the initial P10 million ransom to a cryptocurrency account on March 31, followed by another P3 million on April 2.

Fajardo said the PNP was tracing the money trail to identify other possible players in the case.

The PNP is also investigating the illegal process allegedly used to funnel the P200 million ransom through casino junket operators until it was converted into cryptocurrency.

“Pumunta po tayo mismo doon sa mga junket operators na na-implicate po dito sa kaso po na ito, dalawa po ang pinuntahan natin diyan,” she said.

(We personally visited the junket operators implicated in this case—two of them.)

“Tinanong natin mismo ang mga operators kung paano ba ang isang indibidwal ay nakakapasok ng pera doon sa kanilang junket operation," she added.

(We asked them directly how an individual is able to channel money into their junket operations.)

P5-MILLION BOUNTY

Meanwhile, Fajardo said a P5 million reward is being offered for information leading to the whereabouts of Gong Wenli alias Kelly Tan Lim, one of the suspects in the kidnap-slay.

Fajardo said Lim played a key role in the crime, having allegedly lured the victim to the location where he was abducted.

"May concerned citizen na gusto kaagad masolve ang kaso na ito when they learned that we are running this Kelly when we identified her as the female Chinese national who was used to lure and bait si Anson Tan para pumunta doon sa lugar and after conducting operational research na-identify natin ito si alias Kelly and this is the precisely the reason kung bakit may nag offer ng reward for her immediate identification and possible location para malagay natin siya sa custody so that we could extract more information that can shed light on this particular case," said Fajardo. 

(A concerned citizen offered the reward upon learning we were tracking Kelly, a female Chinese national identified as the bait used to lure Anson Tan. Through operational research, we confirmed her identity. The reward aims to fast-track her identification and possible arrest so we can place her in custody and gather more information to shed light on the case.)

She added that, based on the extrajudicial confessions of two arrested Filipino suspects, Lim was the one who used Que's phone to negotiate with the family during the abduction.

"Based doon sa extrajudicial confession ng 2 Filipino cohorts ay accordingly ang may hawak ng telepono at negotiating with the family ay itong si Kelly kaya we are showing you her face para matulungan tayo ng ating mga kababayan para malocate natin at maipasa ilalim natin sa custody ng PNP ito pong Gong Wenli alias Kelly Tan," Fajardo said, adding that Lim is believed to still be in the country.

(According to the confessions, Kelly was holding the victim's phone and was the one negotiating with the family. That's why we're releasing her photo—to seek the public's help in locating and placing Gong Wenli alias Kelly Tan under PNP custody.)

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla refused to comment further on Que's case

“I cannot, we are still looking at the other theories of the case. Just to be fair to all the parties, I don't think it's right for me to comment on what I believe to be the truth,” Remulla said.

Remulla said the police should be allowed to continue their work on the investigation.

Last Monday, the preliminary investigation of the Department of Justice-National Prosecution Service began with the attendance of the respondents to the case.

“So let's just continue with the police work and the analysis of things,” Remulla said.

Anson Que and his driver were first reported missing on March 29. A ransom of USD 20 million was demanded by the kidnappers, and the family eventually paid P200 million in cryptocurrency, in multiple tranches.

The businessman and his driver were found in Rodriguez, Rizal, on April 9.