BEIJING – China called on the Philippines to catch and severely punish the murderers of a Chinese citizen in a kidnapping case that prompted Beijing’s diplomatic intervention.
The Chinese citizen was killed after being held recently in the Philippines, the Chinese Embassy in the South-east Asian nation said in a statement on July 2.
The Chinese mission had urged the Philippine authorities to rescue the hostage, it added, saying a Chinese American was also murdered.
“We urge the Philippines to strengthen efforts to investigate the case, catch the murderers as soon as possible and severely punish them,” the embassy said in the statement posted on China’s social media platform WeChat. Chinese citizens should “raise their awareness of security” when traveling to the country, it said.
While China has not blamed the Philippine authorities and few details are known, any findings of fault in their handling of the case could worsen ties, which are already strained last month after vessels from the two sides had their most serious encounter in the disputed South China Sea.
The embassy said it made representations to senior Philippine officials and relevant departments.
The Philippines sent a diplomatic note to China to seek a dialogue with Beijing following the clash, while President Xi Jinping’s government has insisted on its territorial claims to a huge swath of the waters.
Manila’s foreign affairs department and national police did not immediately respond to Bloomberg News’ requests for comment on the case on July 2.
The victims worked for two different Chinese medical equipment companies and were visiting the Philippines on a business trip, according to earlier Chinese media reports.
The family of one of them paid three million yuan (S$560,600) in ransom to the kidnappers, the Beijing News reported on July 1.
Source link : https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/china-urges-philippines-to-punish-killers-of-chinese-citizen
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Publish date : 2024-07-02 06:30:00
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