Philippine police have killed four Chinese kidnapping suspects in a shootout and rescued a Chinese man they reportedly kidnapped in the city center, officials said. With the support of a SWAT team and intelligence agents, police ransacked a hideout in the city of Lapu Lapu on Monday evening after tracking down suspects who received a partial ransom through Chinese smartphone app WeChat.

In this context, the head of the anti-kidnapping unit of the national police, General Rodolphe Dimas, noted that “our people were met with fire from the suspects, which prompted them to react.” Chinese-speaking militants detained an injured Chinese man, who police identified as Liu Xingguo, from southeast China’s Fujian province, at his home last Wednesday as he was leaving for work in the city of Lapu Lapu, police said.

Police said the kidnappers contacted the victim’s son in China and demanded a ransom paid in part by the family via the WeChat app, allowing police to track down the suspects without going into details.