On May 18, the Philippine National Police announced that law enforcement officers launched a raid at a well-known hotel on Boracay Island at 2 PM the previous day, successfully arresting two Chinese fugitives. These included the main suspect in the Guo Congyuan kidnapping and murder case, Gong Wenli (alias Kelly Tan Lim), and a man surnamed Wu.
The police stated that Gong Wenli had lured Guo Congyuan to a residence in Meycauayan City, Bulacan Province under the pretext of buying a house. She then collaborated with accomplices to illegally detain him and used the victim's mobile phone to extort ransom from his family. Despite the Guo family paying over 100 million pesos in three installments, Guo Congyuan and his driver were ultimately murdered, and their bodies were found in Rizal Province in April.
Gong Wenli had been wanted by the Philippine police, with the reward for her capture increasing from 5 million to 10 million pesos. Intelligence indicated that she was last seen on Boracay Island on April 21. During this operation, the police also seized four mobile phones and are currently conducting digital forensics to trace the flow of funds and identify the masterminds behind the scenes.
The 26-year-old Gong Wenli had been charged in 2022 for using similar methods to lure and detain another Chinese woman in Pangasinan Province, with at least seven cases on record. She was temporarily released in 2024 on a bail of 300,000 pesos.
So far, two Filipino accomplices have been arrested, another Chinese suspect, Liao David, has surrendered, and a man surnamed Lin, Jonin Lim, is still at large. The Philippine authorities emphasize their ongoing efforts to combat transnational kidnapping and money laundering crimes within the country and to strengthen the supervision of illegal foreign elements and financial flows.
