Police investigators are looking into business rivalry as one of the possible motives in the murder of Vietnamese national Kim Vu Dang.
Vu Dang, who is engaged in lobster buy and sell, was gunned down by a still unidentified suspect while inside the stockroom of his house in Purok El Rancho, Barangay Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa, last May 8.
Puerto Princesa City Police Office (PPCPO) director P/Col. Ronie Bacuel told media in a press briefing on Friday morning that based on follow up investigations, they found out that there are several businessmen engaged in lobster trading in the city and that there is a fierce competition among them.
While he did not explicitly identify the business competition, Bacuel said they ‘need more evidence to establish, but it is one angle that we are looking at.
“Other than that, meron pa rin kaming tinitingnan doon sa business transactions nila. We are looking into it, including yung mga personalities na nabanggit noong asawa niya,” Bacuel said.
P/Maj. Noel Manalo, chief of Police Station 2 (PS 2), also said that their investigation also leads to the lobster business, adding that what they need most right now is to arrest the gunman.
“Ang pinaka evidence na dapat makuha ay yung gunman na pag nahuli namin ay siya ang makapagtuturo ng mastermind,” Manalo said.
Bacuel, who heads the task group to investigate Vu Dang’s murder, further stated that they already have the names of individuals but declined to disclose them so as not to hamper the investigation.
Bacuel said their main focus right now is to gather and establish concrete evidence to strengthen their case before filing it in court.
“May mga names na lumutang so we are in the process of evaluating all information. Hopefully, at the end of the investigation, makikita natin kung sino talaga yung directly involved,” he said.
“We need to be careful in the collection of evidence and gathering of data that may corroborate or support in the filing of case, because we don’t want the efforts of our investigators to be wasted,” he said.
Although the incident is considered an isolated case, Bacuel stated that they are taking measures to prevent its recurrence in the future.
Additionally, they are planning to coordinate with and meet concerned personalities to discuss security measures regarding the matter.”
“Yung pinapatupad natin na police visibility, kasama na rin yung plano na magkaroon ng three police stations and we are still working on it,” he said.
“I do believe that with the activation of additional three more police stations we will increase the number of police officers in Puerto Princesa and at the same time yung area o jurisdiction ng bawat station mas makakapag focus sila. So our main goal is crime prevention with the increase of police visibility.
He also said the P300,000 reward money offered by the family for those who can give information about the suspect is a big help in their investigation.
“Wala pang official communication na ipinaabot sa amin about that but we appreciate the efforts of the family and malaking tulong yan sa amin para ma-encourage yung ating mga kababayan na magbigay ng tamang information,” he said.
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