KOTA KINABALU: A Malaysian looking for employment in Manila has allegedly been abducted outside a hotel in Pasay City.

       In the 5.30pm incident on Saturday (Dec 4), the man – identified as one Victor Mak – managed to escape from his abductors shortly after he was forced into a van, according to a regional intelligence source.

       According to the initial report received on Sunday (Dec 5), the source said the 27-year-old Malaysian was trying to find a job and used a Telegram app to get in touch with the prospective "employers" who were offering a job with a China company based in the Philippines.

       The source said the suspects, two unidentified male Chinese nationals and a Filipino man, met the victim at the Hilton in Pasay City.

       The suspects then forced him to get into a white van and demanded 500,000 pesos (about RM42,000) for his freedom.

       He claimed that he was transferred to another van and beaten up by the suspects.

       However, he managed to escape from his captors and sought help from bystanders, the source said.

       Police in the Philippines were reportedly investigating the case for kidnapping.

       It was understood no arrests had been made so far in Mak's particular case.

       The source could not immediately verify which part of Malaysia Mak was from or how long he had been in Manila.

       The modus operandi of the alleged kidnappers was similar to previous incidents in the Pasay City area where victims were usually offered jobs and grabbed when they met their potential employer.

       Philippine police have arrested suspects, including China nationals, in such kidnapping cases, according to news reports.