Dialogue with the kidnapped Chinese in the Philippines K: The only survivor of the hundreds of kidnapping cases, first time learning about Crypto Assets.

K was ultimately released by paying a ransom in USDT and assisted the police in gradually capturing the core members of the kidnappers.

Written by: Wu Talks Blockchain

In the podcast, K recounts in detail how he was kidnapped and successfully rescued in the Philippines. He is one of the few survivors of more than 100 kidnappings in the Philippines in 2022, involving local kidnappers and Chinese gangsters, as well as the victims' personal bodyguards. K recounts how he calmly negotiated to survive blindfolded, electrocuted, scalded, and threatened, and was eventually released by paying a USDT ransom and assisting the police in arresting the core members of the kidnappers. His experience exposes the black industry chain behind the frequent kidnappings in the Chinese community in the Philippines, and also provides personal safety advice.

The audio transcription is completed by GPT and may contain errors. The content is based on the interviewee's account and does not represent Wu's views. Please listen to the full podcast:

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The following is K's self-statement:

I came to the Philippines to do business about 8 years ago, working in nickel mining and contracting mining operations. After that incident happened, my company closed down, and I stopped working in the mining industry. But I had to find something to do, so I started investing in cryptocurrency; this industry doesn't require public exposure or networking. After that incident, I basically withdrew from my original circle and became inactive. This circle is too small; everyone in the industry knows about my situation.

On December 12, 2022, at around 10 a.m. My bodyguard and driver was supposed to take me to a meeting. I had originally been at a coffee shop near my home, but because I had a meeting at 11 o'clock, I postponed leaving until 10. This bodyguard is Filipino, found through my HR on a Philippine recruitment website, which is actually not very reliable, as there was no background check and no guarantees.

That day, he usually took my son to school around 7 o'clock in the morning, fortunately, he didn't kidnap my son. Then he came back home to pick me up, and I told him not to take me to the company, but to leave at 10 o'clock to go to the meeting. As a result, later the police checked the surveillance and found that the kidnappers were already lying in wait at the main entrance of the community around 7 o'clock, which was clearly a sign that they had received notice in advance.

As soon as the car drove out of the community, it suddenly stopped, and two people dressed in the clothes of road builders got into the car from the left and right, sandwiched me in the middle, and immediately put a hood on me and tied my hands, and the car drove away. Halfway they changed cars and transferred me to another location, where I was imprisoned for 6 days, from December 12th to 18th.

I was calm and didn't struggle. I know it's a kidnapping, not a vendetta, and the other party is mainly asking for money. I was very cooperative and said "what do you want" to them and they replied "we just need money". I told them "don't kill me" and they handcuffed me and put me on a hood the whole time.

At first, it was the Filipinos who communicated with me in English, repeatedly emphasizing that they would not kill me, only wanting money. Later, they searched my phone and asked for my password, and I complied. I believe my bodyguard must have already told them who I am.

My bodyguard was with me the whole time. I could hear his cough, he was smoking, I was familiar with that sound.

I had my eyes covered for 6 days from start to finish, which also made me realize that they probably won't kill me. Because as far as I know, as long as your face is seen, most will end up being killed.

They spoke to me in English: "We won't kill you, we just want money." I pretended to be pitiful and cooperated with everything, so they didn't hit me much.

At first, they wanted to seal my mouth, so I pretended to vomit. They were afraid I would choke to death, so they didn't seal it. After that, someone spoke to me in Minnan and Mandarin, saying, "We just want money, do you have USDT?" But at that time, I had never been in contact with cryptocurrency at all. When they saw that I didn't have any cryptocurrency trading apps on my phone, they believed that I didn't understand.

He said you should call your friend and tell him you owe me money, and have him transfer the money over. I said okay, just let him find the party A of the mining company in my contacts, a big boss.

Then I called my client and directly said in Minnan dialect: "Sir, I have been kidnapped, please save me and find someone to help!" As a result, the other party understood, he was from Putian. After hanging up the phone, the kidnapper said I shouldn't say "kidnapped", but should say "in debt". Then they made me call my wife.

They asked for my wife's phone number, but I couldn't remember it, so I let them look through my phone's contacts. In the end, they got through to her. I told my wife, "I’ve been kidnapped, but don’t worry, they won’t kill me, just pay them." I also reminded her to hurry and contact Mr. Huang and Mr. Cai for help.

I spoke in a mix of Minnan dialect, Fujian dialect, and Mandarin, which the kidnappers couldn't quite understand; the main perpetrators, a Chinese couple, probably understood only half of what I said. They knew I was seeking help, but there was nothing they could do to stop it. Mr. Cai is my truck supplier.

Back then, we ordered 100 heavy trucks and 10 excavators, and the vehicle ordering banquet invited many people, making it quite high-profile. Perhaps it was this that made the bodyguards think I was wealthy and led to malicious intentions.

My wife is very alert and immediately reported to the police. During the kidnapping, we had multiple phone calls, and each time there were members of the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group behind her. The embassy also arranged for people to follow up; otherwise, the police wouldn't pay any attention to you. That year, there was an average of one kidnapping case every three days in the Philippines, totaling over a hundred cases in a year, with 90% involving Chinese people. Many of these were related to gambling, but I was in a legitimate mining business, and it was only because someone vouched for me that the police were willing to take action.

I am a member of the Philippine Mining Association, and many people in the industry know me. The police have conducted background checks and know that I have a clean background, which is why they are willing to mobilize resources to rescue people. At that time, it was also close to Christmas, and the government hoped to avoid social unrest.

At that time, the police sent four people to guard my family around the clock in shifts, taking them to a safe house. Every call between my wife and me was monitored by the police, with negotiation experts assisting alongside.

A few days ago, the call mainly talked about the ransom. At first, they asked for 100 million USD. I said, "Bro, do you know how much 100 million USD is? Even the Philippine banks can't come up with that!" Later, my wife and I each talked with the kidnappers separately, communicating through WhatsApp and voice-changing calls, slowly negotiating from 100 million to 50 million, then to 20 million, and finally settling on a price that both sides could accept.

The final negotiation was reached on the fourth day of the kidnapping. The victim was kidnapped on Monday morning, and a suitable price was confirmed on Thursday afternoon. We decided to pay the ransom, and my wife was responsible for the operation.

The whole process was comparable to a movie. The police arranged four or five police cars and carried out an operation at a hotel in Manila, almost completely sealing off a five-kilometer radius around the hotel. My wife went to the bank alone with a large group of police officers and withdrew a whole sack of cash.

Then escorted to the hotel by the police, the car was filled with armed officers. Upon entering the hotel, everywhere I looked, there were plainclothes police, and the whole scene was just like the movie "Infernal Affairs."

They booked the hotel's VIP lounge, with assistance from the police. There, they completed the final step of the ransom payment — exchanging the cash for USDT and transferring it to the kidnappers. The process of release only began to proceed after the kidnappers confirmed receipt of the cryptocurrency.

My wife took that bag of cash and exchanged it directly at the Jiuding Casino in the hotel. That organization has been helping these people with exchanges, so now Jiuding has been sealed off and the person in charge has run away.

Before paying, I had a conversation with my wife. She asked me: Are you really going to pay? I said in front of the kidnappers: I believe that they will let me go once they receive the money. My wife then really transferred the money. After receiving the money, the kidnappers also told me in person: We have received it, don't worry, we will let you go tonight.

I thought I would finally get through it, but it didn't take long for them to ask for a second payment, saying that there were too many brothers and not enough money. I said yes, but you have to let me go first. My wife has already used all the money she can move, and she can't withdraw any more. I told them that if I didn't sign the company's money, I wouldn't be able to move it, and I had to go out and deal with it myself. They were afraid that I would run, so I said, "You see that I have so many connections, so many companies, mines, and equipment, how can I run?" It was just a negotiation + fooling, and in the end they agreed to let me go.

In the past few days, I have been testing them, and in the first two days, they used electric shock rods, electric stoves to burn me, and knives to slash me twice in the chest to scare me, but they didn't really hurt me, and then they fed me fried chicken, instant noodles, and beef rice every day. By the third day, almost no one had beaten me, and some Filipinos even said they wanted to let me go secretly.

Interestingly, the Filipinos guarding me and the main culprit were split into two factions. One faction was my bodyguard's friends, and the other was the subordinates of the main culprit, the Chinese. They kept each other in check. I took the opportunity to encourage those few people: "If you secretly let me go, I will have my wife transfer money to you." They were also tempted, but because my phone was taken by the boss, the plan could not be carried out.

On the first day, they also threatened to cut off my fingers if my wife didn't pay for it within 12 hours. I said, "Let me call and ask for it." They gave me time, but nothing happened after 12 hours. I know they're bluffing. Behind it is a knife to the neck, an electric baton to scare, and a fake gun to the head...... It's all scare. Even the guns were empty, there were no bullets with a "click", and I thought to myself, these guys are not going to kill me.

So I softened all the way, was very cooperative, and promised to pay every time. They later said, "You're very cooperative," and they thought I was trustworthy and willing to spend money. In the end, they paid on the fourth day, and on the night of the sixth day, they said to let me go, and specially prepared an old broken Nokia mobile phone without GPS, as well as a new card, and put my original phone card back and wrapped it in plastic and handed it to me.

In the evening, they said they would take you out at 9:30. The process was arranged very carefully — when I talk about it again, you will feel as if you're watching a movie.

That night, they told me to put up with it a little longer and said they were ready to send me out at half past nine. I waited with my eyes closed, and finally they released my handcuffs and leg cuffs, feeling that someone was still rubbing medics, probably afraid that I would bleed too much and not get out.

Then they stuffed me into a Toyota car, and I sat in the middle, with one person on each side holding me down, with a hood on his head, and although his hands were unfastened, they held me from moving. The car drove for a long time, went around and around, and finally stopped in one place. They pulled me out of the car, helped me to stand still, and told me "Don't move, don't remove it, don't look back" and told me not to look back. I said OK, and then as soon as I heard the car door close, they drove away.

I took off my hood for the first time in six days to see the light. At that time, it was already dark, and I was left in a secluded grassy area. Later, I learned that it was called Cagayan, a place near a gambling zone in the Philippines.

I touched my pocket, there was a phone. They dressed me in a sweatshirt and slippers, I had been stripped before. I followed the light, crossed the road to a temporary market, where people were packing up. I saw a couple riding a motorcycle, and I asked for help in English, asking them to help me contact my wife. They were very enthusiastic, helped me add my wife as a friend on Facebook, and were willing to help me send my location.

That young man even asked if I wanted money. I said I needed it, and he gave me 100 pesos. I ran to buy a bottle of cola, wow, that bottle of cola gave me a bit of energy and helped me get through to the next day.

Later my phone rang, it was a message from my wife. The kidnapper told her that I had been released, and she called to ask where I was. I said I didn't know where it was. She said, "I can see your location, don't worry, I've already called the police, and I'll be there to find you soon." At that moment, tears streamed down my face, I finally confirmed that she really had called the police.

I waited alone in place for a long time, and later my wife and the police arrived. We immediately went to the National Police Headquarters, which is the Quezon City Police District of the Philippine National Police.

After returning to the police station, the conference room was already filled with twenty to thirty police officers, including the chief and sergeant of the anti-kidnapping team, as well as the heads of the entire department. I sat down, and they handed me water and food, then started taking my statement from the beginning, talking until around four or five in the morning.

After taking the notes, they took me to the nearby forensic office for a comprehensive examination, photographing, and evidence collection, and then took me to the hospital. The police asked me to choose whether to go to a public hospital or a private hospital at my own expense, and I chose the private one. The police contacted the hospital in advance, and when I got out of the car, the doctors and nurses in white lined up to wait for me, and the wheelchair was ready, all the way to the emergency room, and immediately checked, oxygen, and did an electrocardiogram, and the scene was like a movie.

It was just before Christmas, and the police wanted to maintain stability, so they did not notify the media and handled everything discreetly. They promised to protect my personal safety.

I stayed in the hospital for six days, during which I underwent two surgeries, mainly to address the bruises and burn areas caused by handcuffs and leg shackles. For the entire six days, the police guarded me in the hospital 24 hours a day. After being discharged, the police continued to assign four officers to my home for round-the-clock shifts, for a month to forty days.

In cooperation with the investigation, I continued to provide clues until May when that bodyguard was caught. He had fled to another location, and after the police arrested him, he revealed the "number two figure" in the gang. The police then conducted long-term surveillance and successfully made additional arrests.

So far, my last court appearance was in November and December of last year, before Christmas. The case has now entered the judicial process, the suspect is still in custody, but a final verdict has not yet been delivered.

I didn't go to the toilet at all for those six days – I did it on purpose. It's miserable, I've seen some of the humiliating episodes of prisoners written in history books, such as eating and drilling under people's crotches, I know how to pretend to be miserable. For six days, I peed straight on the spot, urinated all over the ground, and then rolled on the ground, making my whole body dirty.

After a few times, the kidnappers couldn't stand it and said that I would have to say in advance next time I wanted to pee, and they would come to help me. So on the third day, when I said I wanted to pee, they helped me sit up and took a cup for me. In this way, I continued to make them think that I was too miserable to get a little humane treatment.

They first captured my bodyguard. Then, about half a year later, they captured another Filipino, who was also the capable assistant of the main culprit, Andy Lau. Andy Lau (a Chinese) is the real boss of this kidnapping group.

After catching that person, I discovered that they had a large number of firearms and luxury cars hidden in their home, the scene was incredibly extravagant.

I later learned that they promised to give my bodyguard a 1% share. But in the end, they didn't give it to him, so after the bodyguard was arrested, he decided to cooperate with the police and revealed that person, who was Andy Lau's right-hand man.

The matter is not over yet. After the bodyguard revealed the people, Andy Lau initially planned to rescue them, so he sent someone to hire a lawyer for them, hoping to get the bodyguard to change his testimony. Do you know how much it cost to hire a lawyer? 1 million USD.

Later, the lawyer changed a few times because Andy Lau stopped paying, which is equivalent to giving up on the two of them. I can see this too; no one is willing to help them anymore. They have not been formally convicted yet and are still locked up inside.

Very few people can come out alive in the Philippines. The police told me that there were more than 100 kidnapping cases in 2022, and I was the only one released; in 2023, there were also more than 100 cases, and not a single person came out alive. Many were executed, for example, an entire family of eight was killed. From 2022 until now, among three to four hundred cases, possibly no more than five people came out alive, less than 1%.

Not seeing their appearance was very crucial. The police initially didn't believe it, saying how could it be that I hadn't removed my blindfold for 6 days? I said it was true. At first, they even suspected that I was staging it myself. But that's the fact. I hadn't seen their faces for 6 days.