MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has indicted a suspect in the kidnapping and killing of Chinese businessman Congyuan Guo, also known as Anson Que or Anson Tan, and driver Armanie Pabillo.

“The Department of Justice finds prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction as against Gong Wen Li aka ‘Kelly’ in the Kidnapping for Ransom with Homicide of Anson Que,” the DOJ said in a statement on Wednesday, June 18.

The justice department also announced that the prosecution cleared Que’s son, Alvin, in the cases due to lack of evidence “to establish or indicate his involvement in the crime.” Earlier, the Philippine National Police (PNP) cleared Que in the case, but the DOJ said it’s up to the prosecutors to clear Que’s son.

With the indictment of Kelly – who was arrested on May 17 – there are now four suspects who face kidnapping and homicide cases over the killing of the businessman and his driver.

On April 19, the PNP announced the arrest of suspects Richardo Austria David, Raymart Catequista, and Chinese David Tan Liao. The three suspects had undergone inquest proceedings, which is an expedited type of preliminary investigation where prosecutors decide whether to charge arrested individuals or not.

After the inquest, the prosecutors moved to charge the three suspects.

Apart from these, the prosecutors also recommended a case build-up for other persons tagged in the case: “The resolution has also recommended that the respondents Yuan Haohua, Yuan Fanquiang, and Lee Hsiao Ting be referred to the PNP-Anti-Cybercrime Group for case build-up for violation of the AFASA (Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act) Law.”

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TIMELINE: The killing and kidnapping of Anson Que

Que and Pabillo were last seen on March 29 onboard a black Lexus van bound for Parañaque City. Later, their families reported that the two had been abducted, with kidnappers asking for ransom in exchange of the two’s release.

However, despite paying a ransom, the two were still killed by the assailants. On April 9, Que and Pabillo’s bodies were discovered in Rizal, “placed in a nylon bag, tied with nylon rope, and their faces were wrapped with duct tape, lying on the grassy roadside verge to the left of the road leading towards Barangay Macabud proper.” – Rappler.com