On May 17, 2025, at 1:54 PM, the Philippine police, in collaboration with the armed forces and the National Security Council, successfully arrested Gong Wenli (also known as Huang Yanling, Kelly Chen Lin, among other aliases), a key suspect from Hunan, China, in the kidnapping and murder case of Filipino-Chinese steel tycoon Guo Congyuan. The arrest took place in room 403 at Henann Park Resort, Boracay.
A Chinese man, Wu, who was with her, was also detained. On-site interrogations are being conducted intensively, and progress in the investigation will be reported to the Joint Anti-Kidnapping Task Force in a timely manner. The police have seized four mobile phones and are conducting a thorough search of their luggage to uncover more crucial evidence.
Gong Wenli, as the mastermind and "bait" of this case, is suspected of luring Guo Congyuan to the kidnapping location in Mecawayan Town, Bulacan Province. According to the police, on the afternoon of March 29, Guo Congyuan and his driver were invited by Gong Wenli to that residence, where they were subsequently kidnapped and murdered.
Previously, on April 25, the police had arrested Gong Wenli's relatives, Liang Jianhua and Gong Zonglian, on Boracay Island, where three young boys, presumed to be Gong Wenli's children, were also found.
The police accuse them of using forged documents to conceal their identities and attempting to escape by chartered helicopter. Investigations revealed that Gong Wenli and her group arrived on Boracay Island on April 10, the day after the bodies of Guo Congyuan and his driver were discovered.
This trip was arranged through a travel agency, costing about 500,000 Philippine pesos, and was originally planned to stay until May 5. However, due to police patrols at the airport, the trip was canceled ahead of schedule.
The arrest of Gong Wenli marks a significant development after the police increased the reward for her capture from 5 million to 10 million pesos. She and the detained kidnapper Yang Jianmin are considered "co-conspirators" in the case, responsible for luring the victim and collecting the ransom.
Moreover, Gong Wenli is also implicated in another kidnapping case of a Chinese woman in Bataan Province in 2022, for which she had been previously released on bail. Yang Jianmin and Gong Wenli are involved in multiple kidnapping cases, which are complex and have extensive connections.
In the Guo Congyuan kidnapping case, the ransom involved amounted to 2.1 billion pesos. Some of the funds were channeled through Chinese-funded gambling intermediaries Jiuding Group and White Horse Club, leading to the revocation of their licenses and their subsequent exit from the Philippine market. The White Horse Club was also arrested by the police for illegally transporting nearly 500 million pesos in cash.
The Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council is cooperating with the police to intensify investigations into these two gambling intermediaries, focusing on their use of e-wallets for cryptocurrency conversions and ransom laundering.
The arrest of Gong Wenli will help unravel the full details of the Guo Congyuan kidnapping and murder case. Rumors involving Guo Rongxian, the son of the victim, the direction of the ransom, and other doubts will gradually become clear as the investigation deepens.
Gong Wenli and Wu, who were staying together at Henann Resort, show a close relationship, and the latter is likely also a key suspect in the case.
