THE PHILIPPINES. 8 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KIDNAPPING

the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QCRTC), the Philippines, sentenced to death eight of nine kidnappers convicted of abducting the son of a wealthy businessman in Batangas.
Those convicted were Jaime Moog, Primo Arena, Felicisimo Laygo, Edgar Alvarez, Almario Abrasaldo, Rufo Astero, Dominador Torano, and Manolito Sandoval. The ninth suspect, Juanito Moreno, was acquitted by the court for failure of the witnesses and the kidnap victim to positively identify him from a police lineup as among the perpetrators of the crime. Court records showed that Channie Tan Son, of Barangay Talahiban, San Juan, was abducted by the convicts while tending their hardware store. The convicts, reports said, demanded a R10-million ransom.
The ransom was later reduced to R2.6 million after several negotiations were made between the kidnap victim’s family and the kidnappers.
During the payoff on July 21, 1999, the family of the kidnap victim coordinated with the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force to arrest the suspects. Inspector Roniel Popera, informed the court that Moog, Arena, Laygo, and Alvarez had escaped from the Quezon City Jail on February 11, 2003, prompting the court to issue a warrant of arrest for their immediate apprehension.
Arena, Laygo, and Alvarez were re-captured on June 18, 2003, March 19, 2004, and January 1, 2005, respectively, while Moog was still on the run.