MARAWI CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 1, 2012) – A prominent Filipino-Chinese businessman was shot dead inside his store in the southern Philippine province of Lanao del Sur, officials said Thursday.
Officials said a lone gunman attacked Vic Ong, who was in his 60s, in China town in the municipality of Malabang on Tuesday afternoon.
“The gunman first demanded money from Ong and when he refused the assailant pulled out a pistol and shot the victim at close range,” Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, a local army commander, told the Mindanao Examiner.
He said no individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities are investigating whether the killing was connected to extortion or business rivalry.
“Investigations are going to establish the real motive in the killing of Mr. Vic Ong,” Lucero said.
Other reports said the murder could be the offshoot of Ong’s successful intercession that recently prevented the planned abduction of a Catholic priest in the town. Ong was a philanthropist and had no known enemies in the town. (Mindanao Examiner)
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