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COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/02 April) – At least four armed men stormed into a grocery along corner Sinsuat and Pansacala streets here at around 6:45 p.m. Friday and dragged its owner, Jinkee Lim Yap, into their getaway vehicle.
Col. Dorotheo Jalandoni, chief of the Marine Battalion Landing Team in the city, said they tried to pursue the suspects at the dumpsite but failed to catch up with them. He said the kidnappers boarded a pumpboat towards Liguasan Marsh.
The kidnappers abandoned the blue getaway van whose glass windows were reportedly destroyed.
Investigators found bullets for caliber .45 pistols and Yap’s white slippers.
Also found inside the van were gallons containing gasoline.
Police investigators said the kidnappers may have attempted to burn the vehicle.
Residents at the dumpsite declined to talk.
Search and rescue operations were conducted by the Marines and Special Forces’ Riverine Battalion.
City administrator Cynthia Sayadi said the kidnapping was captured on a CCTV camera.
“The victim was pulled and dragged into the vehicle,” she said.
This is the second kidnapping in the city this year. Businessman Aden Yu, who was snatched at the parking lot of Estosan Hotel here on January 8, has remained in captivity. (Ferdinand B. Cabrera/MindaNews)
