DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 16, 2011) – Philippine police mounted an operation Wednesday to track down a gunman who killed two Indian nationals in the province of Compostela Valley in Mindanao Island.
The assailant fled after killing Sukhinder, 26, and Manjeat, 27, both surnamed Singh, in the town called Nabunturan, a known stronghold of the communist New People’s Army rebels.
The motive of the killings is still unknown, but authorities were investigating whether the attack was connected to the victims’ money lending business or extortion by rebels.
The gunman shot the two foreigners with a pistol while they were riding tandem on a motorcycle. It was unclear whether communist rebels or a disgruntled debtor were involved in the attack.
Indian money lenders in the southern Philippines have been the subject of numerous complaints due to the usurious interests they usually charge their customers.
For every P100 a customer borrows, they have to pay additional P20 in interest charges payable in 30 days. And if they fail to pay up, an additional P20 more be added up to their debts and so on.
The business is illegal, but is widely tolerated in many parts of the region due to economic reason. Many of its customers are small time traders and private employees who rely solely on this nefarious scheme. (Mindanao Examiner)
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