What is the reason for the tragedy in the Philippine Kangtai Group? Why did the gunman kill so many hostages?

A Filipino gunman hijacked a tourist bus carrying 25 people in the capital Manila on the 23rd. The bus was carrying a 21-person tourist group from Hong Kong, China. During the armed rescue operation by the Philippine police, eight hostages were killed and many were injured, and the hijacker was shot dead on the spot.

It is reported that the carjacker was actually a former "Top Ten" police officer in the Philippines. During the hijacking operation, he showed "goodwill" and released 9 passengers, including 3 children and an old man. However, the situation took a turn for the worse that evening, and hopes for a peaceful resolution were dashed.

The responsible Filipino tour guide failed to stop the robber

The hijacker is Rolando Mendoza, 55 years old. He was arrested at around 9:00 local time on the 23rd (9:00 Beijing time). A tourist bus was hijacked with an M16 rifle near the Quirino Grandstand in downtown Manila.

The name "Kangtai Travel Agency" is written on the body of the bus. Information provided by this travel agency showed that there were 20 Hong Kong passengers and a Hong Kong tour guide on board. The tourists were aged between 4 and 72 years old. They arrived in Manila on the 20th. The 23rd was the last day of the trip and they were originally scheduled to fly that night. Return to Hong Kong.

Liu Meishi, general manager of Kangtai Travel Agency, told the media that the bus arrived at Rizal Park, a well-known attraction near the Quirino Grandstand. When the tourists were preparing to get off the bus for a tour, Mendoza was holding a powerful weapon. M16 automatic rifles boarded the bus, asked everyone to stay on the bus, and asked the driver to drive to the Quirino Grandstand.

Wang Shirong, the person in charge of Philippine Fangyuan Travel Agency, told reporters that the agency is a partner of Kangtai Travel Agency and is responsible for receiving this group of Hong Kong tourists. At the time of the incident, Mendoza, who was wearing a police uniform, asked for a ride, so the people in the car were not alerted.

Liu Meishi said that the hijacker tried to get on the bus among the tourists. After being stopped by a local tour guide, he revealed his identity, forced himself into the bus, and held the driver with handcuffs. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Hong Kong tour leader, who was hiding in the back seat, secretly called the Hong Kong headquarters of the travel agency.

The Philippine police arrived at the scene and sealed off the area where the bus was located. Reporters at the scene saw about 40 special police officers holding rifles and wearing body armor, squatting on standby about 600 meters away from the hijacked bus.

It is reported that before a large number of snipers were deployed to the scene, Mendoza once stood outside the bus door and waved to reporters. It can be seen that this former senior police officer is very experienced.

The fired former police officer went crazy

The temperature in Manila that day was about 32 degrees Celsius. Posadas, the head of the rescue operation, said police provided food to the hostages and fuel to the buses to keep the air conditioners running.

Starting from noon that day, the Philippine police started negotiations with Mendoza through the bus driver’s mobile phone.

Mendoza was a former senior local police inspector. He was dismissed and canceled after being accused of extorting a hotel manager in Manila with four other police officers in 2008. He was charged with blackmail and other crimes. All retirement benefits. He could have retired this year.

After Mendoza hijacked the bus, he proposed conditions, requiring the police to reinstate his position and compensate him for the losses he suffered during his dismissal.

He posted a note on the bus windshield that read "Withdrawal of final decision." Another note posted on the car door read: "Use the wrong (behavior) of (hijacking the bus) to correct the wrong decision (of dismissal)."

Mendoza's wife and brother were both concerned after the incident. Rush to the scene. His brother Gregorio is also a senior police officer.

Mendoza had earlier set a deadline of 3 pm on the 23rd to resolve the hijacking incident, but later extended the deadline to 3:30. After the second deadline, Mendoza posted a note on the bus window that read "Media, now" as if he wanted to speak through the media.

When Gregorio was on the phone with his brother, the reporter heard him asking his brother to extend the time limit.

Gregorio said that Mendoza said on the phone that as long as the integrity court canceled the dismissal order against him and sent the order to him, he would surrender immediately and be released.

Gregorio said that Mendoza felt that "he was treated unfairly... (was dismissed) without due process, no hearing, no appeal." "He felt disappointed and felt that he was He did a good job as a police officer, but he was fired for something he didn't do."

According to information released by the Philippine Police, Mendoza became one of the top ten outstanding police officers in the Philippines in 1986.

Police spokesman Magarejo said: "We are making every effort to rescue the hostages as soon as possible...Rescue by force is the last option."

A resourceful female tourist rescued the child

As of 18:00, Mendoza had released 9 hostages, including a Filipino photographer, 3 children and an old man.

Posadas said: "He is showing goodwill, and I think everything will be resolved peacefully."

After some Hong Kong tourists were released, Kangtai Travel Agency held a press conference on the afternoon of the 23rd An update on the situation. Liu Meishi, general manager of the agency, said at the meeting that the six Hong Kong tourists released included an elderly couple, a woman and three children.

Liu Meishi said that a released female tourist also revealed some details to her on the phone. She and her husband were traveling in a group with their two children. After being hijacked for a period of time, the hijackers suddenly walked up to her and the children and asked them to get out of the car without explaining the reason, so she lied to another group member. The children were also his relatives, and he finally succeeded in taking the three children away first.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive Donald Tsang stated that he would personally handle the incident. The Secretary for Security of the SAR, Li Shaoguang, said that a task force led by him has been set up to handle the matter.

Wang Xiaobo, an official in charge of consular protection at the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, told reporters that it was previously reported that there were 22 Hong Kong tourists on the bus, but it was confirmed that there were 21 Hong Kong tourists on the bus. , one of whom is the tour leader, and the remaining four are Filipinos, including a driver, a photographer and a translator.

Wang Xiaobo said that he has made representations to the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and requested the authorities to take immediate action, but must exercise restraint, avoid excessive behavior, and ensure the safety of Hong Kong tour groups.

The SWAT officers who attacked were too slow to knock on the windows

After the carjacking incident, Philippine President Aquino III called on the hijackers to respect the lives of the hostages.

Philippine media reported that the Quirino Grandstand was the venue for the inauguration ceremony of President Aquino III.

However, later that day, Philippine Presidential Palace spokesman Rickey suddenly stated that the Presidential Palace would not negotiate with the robbers, which would encourage the robbers' arrogance.

Starting from 16:00 that afternoon, the police suddenly drove away reporters near the carjacking scene, and the SWAT team 500 meters away also made moves to narrow the encirclement.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became tense, and Mendoza fell into despair. His "goodwill" finally stopped.

The reporter saw that the hijacked bus tried to drive forward, and the police shot and blew out the tires to stop it from moving.

The Filipino driver escaped from the car and told the police that Mendoza had shot the hostages.

However, there is also news that the bus driver was also released by Mendoza.

Heavily armed police officers approached the bus, preparing to storm it.

Seeing the police approaching, Mendoza told the media on the phone: "I saw a lot of special police approaching... I knew they would kill me, and I asked them to leave... I have killed two people, If they don't stop, I'll kill them all."

Then the attack began. Several SWAT officers tried to break the bus's rear windshield with hammers, but failed. Later, the police threw several tear gas grenades into the car and exchanged gunfire with Mendoza outside the car.

After the attack lasted for more than an hour, the special police finally opened the emergency door at the rear of the bus and boarded the bus. Fierce gunfire rang out inside the bus. Television footage showed two special police officers jumping out of the car immediately.

Local TV stations in the Philippines later reported that according to the escaped driver, the carjackers had shot all the remaining hostages.

However, Philippine Red Cross personnel later said that at least four hostages walked out of the bus on their own, and some were crying emotionally.

According to the final confirmation of the Philippine police, the robber has been killed. During the rescue operation, 7 hostages died, 2 hostages were seriously injured, 6 hostages were slightly injured, and 10 other hostages were released. In addition, a woman who was watching at the scene was shot three times in the foot, but her life was not in danger.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said that night that 8 of the 15 Hong Kong tourists on the bus had been confirmed dead, 2 were seriously injured, and the conditions of the other 5 were yet to be confirmed.

It is reported that the Hong Kong SAR government is arranging a charter flight to arrange for the families of the hostages to go to Manila on the evening of the 23rd or the morning of the 24th. The SAR government will fly the flag at half-mast on the 24th to mourn the victims.

Hong Kong vs. Philippines

Although Southeast Asia is the first choice for Chinese tourists to travel abroad, the number of Chinese tourists attracted by the Philippines is far less than that of other Southeast Asian countries. In recent years, with the various preferential measures introduced by the Philippine government, the number of Chinese tourists visiting the country has increased significantly.

Philippine Tourism Minister Riem said on the 23rd that he was worried that the carjacking incident would affect the country’s tourism industry.

Liu Meishi, general manager of Kangtai Travel Agency, said on the 23rd that currently, Kangtai still has 3 groups of 53 people traveling in Manila and will change part of the itinerary. She said she believed this incident was an isolated case and would not affect the travel agency's future tours to the Philippines. From the 24th to the 28th, 3 groups of 68 people will travel to the Philippines as scheduled.

However, later in the day, the Hong Kong SAR government raised the outbound travel alert level for the Philippines to black. The SAR government, through the Travel Industry Council, has requested local tour groups to return to Hong Kong as soon as possible, and those who have not yet departed must also cancel their trips.

Industry insiders said that although there have been many incidents of Chinese people being kidnapped in the Philippines, most of them were migrant workers in remote areas. The accident of Chinese tourists in Manila was an accident.

09:00 A tourist bus carrying Hong Kong tourists was hijacked.

12:14 The hijackers released 6 hostages.

By 15:30, three more hostages were released.

At 16:00, the Philippine police began to tighten the encirclement.

19:03 Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said that the Chinese government requires the Philippines to actively rescue the hostages on the premise of ensuring the safety of the hostages.

19:32 Gunshots were heard at the scene where the bus was hijacked.

19:40 Philippine police launched a forceful attack on the bus.

19:42 TV footage showed that the glass of the bus was broken in many places. A Hong Kong reporter was injured by a stray bullet.

20:29 According to local TV stations in Manila, the carjackers shot and killed all the hostages who were not released.

20:43 TV footage showed that there was a body hanging on the door of the bus. It was analyzed that the deceased was a robber. Subsequently, the rescued hostages stepped out of the bus one after another.

His purpose is to let the police release his brother.