DNA tests released on Tuesday confirmed that human remains found in the Philippines earlier this month belonged to a Taiwanese national who had been reported missing since October, local police said.
A 47-year-old Taiwanese businessman surnamed Hung (洪), a resident of Paranaque, was reported missing on Oct. 10 after he failed to return from a trip to Tagaytay.
Police found the unidentified dead body with bullet holes in the head in a forest in the Santa Rosa area — south of Manila between Paranaque and Tagaytay — earlier this month.
Photo: Huang Chun-hsuan, Taipei Times.
As the face was unrecognizable, police used DNA tests to determine the body’s identity.
The results confirmed that the deceased was Hung, police said.
Police said they were still investigating Hung’s disappearance and the circumstances behind his alleged murder.
A Chinese-language missing person notice circulating in overseas Taiwanese online forums in the Philippines said that Hung had been doing business in Manila for nearly three decades.
One of Hung’s female employees reported him missing on Oct. 10, the Philippine Star reported.
The woman told investigators that her employer’s wife, who is based in Taiwan, had not been able to contact him by telephone since the day he left for Tagaytay to attend a Double Ten National Day reception, the report said.
On Oct. 13, a Taiwanese police attache and several of Hung’s colleagues sought the help of the police anti-kidnapping group to look into Hung’s disappearance, it said.
The Philippine Star later reported on Dec. 9 that police had traced Hung’s vehicle to the Santa Rosa northbound toll plaza in Laguna, which would be on the way from Tagaytay to Paranaque.
The report said the car had been left unattended for weeks.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that its representative office in Manila has been working closely with Hung’s family and with the Philippine police to investigate the matter.
The ministry urged Taiwanese living in or traveling to the Philippines to be on high alert, especially when visiting Makati, the financial center of the Philippines, amid a reported rise in crime targeting foreign nationals.
Taiwanese should avoid traveling alone or wearing expensive jewelry while in the Southeast Asian country, it said.
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