Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Elmer Cereno, in a separate interview, said the PNP-AKG’s “problem is we don’t have any contacts [with our counterparts] in China”, adding that this hampered investigations.

Police save Chinese man in 53rd case of casino-related abductions

Said director Estomo: “We know that the cases of kidnappings [where victims and perpetrators are both Chinese] have reached alarming proportions.”

He added that besides meeting Consul Hong Jie, who serves as the police attaché at Beijing’s embassy in Manila, he had also met the “No 3 [highest ranking officer] in the Chinese police”.

Philippine offshore gaming operators, or Pogos, employ roughly 138,000 Chinese workers, according to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, which regulates online gaming.

However, Estomo said he was told the plan to put up a “China desk” in Philippine casinos where kidnappings had taken place still needed the nod of higher authorities in Beijing.

It would also need the approval of the Philippine government, Police General Benigno Durana Jnr told the Post.

He explained that police officers from foreign countries are barred from “exercising law enforcement functions [and] cannot just station their police in casinos because that’s a violation of our sovereignty and the necessary protocols of interstate police cooperation”.

Why the Philippine economy is trading call centres for casinos

Durana said that at best, Chinese police officers could only perform “coordinative” activities on Philippine soil, and could not exercise law-enforcement functions including surveillance.

Even if the plan comes to fruition, Estomo and Cereno each said Chinese police would “only assist” the PNP-AKG.

Meanwhile, Estomo said he would hire a local Mandarin teacher for his men “because we find it difficult to get an interpreter, especially during arrests”.

The planned collaboration comes as yet another kidnapping attempt involving Chinese nationals was foiled on August 25.

A month into his new job with a Pogo, Chinese national Li Xin, 21, decided to try his luck playing baccarat at the Okada Manila resort and casino – but he lost.

Li was about to leave with a friend when four strangers, who were compatriots, approached him with a deal. They offered to lend him 200,000 pesos (US$3,800) and if he won, he had to pay back the loan plus 20 per cent interest.

Li took the money and played for hours. Around 4am, according to PNP-AKG spokesman Cereno, the four men surrounded him and told him to come outside with them.

He returned the 60,000 pesos he had left from the loan, cried out and made a scene. This attracted casino security, which took all five to the Okada security office and called the PNP-AKG.

Cereno said the four men, who were found with tourist visas, were arrested and charged with the crime of “making threats” since the kidnapping was foiled. They are Zhao Liang, 31, and Liu Tao, 34, from Tianjin; Li Lin, 28, from Liaoning province; and Jin Ning, 29, from Henan province.

Ex-police chief cites China threat to justify youth military training

Li, who also carried a tourist visa, flew back to Chengdu in Sichuan province after making a statement of complaint, Cereno said.

Philippine National Police chief General Oscar Albayalde on Tuesday tried to allay concerns over the kidnappings, telling local media that police were concerned although the incidents were “not that alarming”.

Cereno said Albayalde’s statement did not contradict that of PNP-AKG director Estomo, explaining that Albayalde was comparing the current rash of kidnappings to the late 1990s, a time “when armed groups abducted members of wealthy [Filipino-Chinese] families and often ended in violent confrontations between the kidnappers and authorities”.

“Today, [the kidnappings] are just a simple way of forcing borrowers [from loan sharks] to pay up and it involves only Chinese nationals,” Cereno said.

Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook