By Florante S. Solmerin
A CHINESE deputy consul and the consulate finance officer in Cebu City were killed while the consul general and another companion were wounded in a gun attack inside a restaurant in Cebu City Thursday.
Supt. Renato Dugan, spokesman of Region-7 Police Office, identified the two Chinese fatalities as Sun Shan, Chinese deputy consul and Hui Li, finance officer. Consul General Song Rong Hua was wounded and taken to Cebu City Hospital where he is in stable condition.
Police arrested a Chinese couple identified as Li Qing Liang, 60 and Gou Jing, 57, also a Chinese consul, minutes after the shooting.
Reports said the group of Chinese nationals were having lunch inside a function room at the Lighthouse Restaurant along Magno Avenue, Barangay Carreta in Cebu City, when a burst of gunfire could be heard coming from the room at about 1:30 p.m.
Reports said the group had been celebrating Sun’s birthday when Li Qing Liang entered and had a heated argument with the deputy consul. Li then drew his gun and started to shoot.
Lighthouse manager Stephen John Patero said the shooting occurred in a private room of the upmarket restaurant, which is a favorite among local politicians.
“We did not really see the actual shooting. They were inside a private function room. There was a series of gunshots,” Patero said.
But he said waiters who served them beforehand had heard the guests shouting at each other.
“They are all friends who apparently figured in an argument,” he said, citing the waiters.
Li was with his wife, Gou Jing, who hid her husband’s gun in her bag. The two were arrested by pursuing policemen at the Cebu Business Park and are now detained and awaiting the filing of charges.
The two consulate officials were pronounced dead upon arrival at the Perpetual Succor Hospital.
Dugan said police found a .45 cal. pistol Colt Defender, three empty shells, two deformed slugs and one live bullet.
Chinese Embassy officials declined to comment on the incident as they were still verifying the facts surrounding the case.
Police in Cebu City said they were investigating further to determine the motive behind the gun attack. With AFP