Suspected ‘mastermind, accomplices’ in Anson Que kidnap-slay case

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday identified David Tan Liao, along with his accomplices, Kelly Tan Lim, and a certain individual, as the alleged masterminds behind the killing of businessman Anson Que and his driver.

In an ambush interview at Camp Crame, PNP Chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil refused to reveal the identity of the other suspects, explaining that revealing their identities at this point could undermine the ongoing manhunt.

“Natumbok po natin yung mastermind, si David Tan Liao, yung kasama po niya yung si Kelly na hinahanap po natin with P5 million bounty, meron pa po kaming hinahanap, hindi lang po namin nilalagay (We've identified the mastermind, David Tan Liao, and his accomplice Kelly, who we are currently looking for and has a P5 million bounty. We're still searching for others as well, but we're not disclosing their names yet),” Marbi said when asked whether authorities had already identified who orchestrated the crime.

“We cannot mention the name kasi tuloy-tuloy po yung paghahabol namin ng mga taong ito (We cannot mention the name because our pursuit of these individuals is still ongoing)," he added.

On 10 April, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) confirmed that the bodies of Anson Que and his driver were discovered stuffed inside nylon bags along a grassy roadside in Rodriguez, Rizal.

Police have identified five suspects in the double murder case. Three — David Tan Liao, Richardo Austria, and Reymart Catequista — are currently in custody. Two others, Jonin Lin and Wenli Gong (also known by several aliases including Kelly Tan Lim, Bao Wenli, Axin, and Huang Yanling), remain at large.

A P5 million reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of Kelly, who allegedly lured Que to an apartment in Bulacan where he and his driver were held captive.

Kelly is also said to have communicated with Que’s family to demand ransom.

Authorities have also questioned two Chinese nationals in Boracay regarding their possible links to Kelly.

According to the Philippine National Police (PNP), casino junket operators transferred the P200-million ransom paid for Que’s release in batches.

The funds were distributed to more than five individuals before being converted into cryptocurrency; two recipients are now in custody.

The PNP is also investigating potential liability on the part of the involved casinos and junket operators.

On Thursday, the PNP cleared Anson Que's son of any involvement in the kidnapping and murder of the businessman and his driver.

A supposed extrajudicial confession of David Tan Liao tagged Alvin as involved in the kidnap-slay of his father, Anson Que.

However, PNP spokesperson P/BGen. Jean Fajardo argues that Liao's confession is unsupported by evidence.

“Hindi kami nag-leak ng extrajudicial confession. We are not stupid enough para ilabas ito, katulad ng sinasabi nila na istupido kaming lahat para ilabas iyon. Hindi kami naglabas noon (We did not leak the extrajudicial confession. We are not stupid enough to release it, unlike what they are saying, that we are all foolish to make it public. We did not release it)," Fajardo said.