S’porean businessman gunned down in Philippines

He was supposed to have returned to Singapore yesterday to celebrate his parents' birthdays and spend the Jubilee weekend with them.

But tragedy struck when two men gunned down Mr Stanley Jang, 36, in his office at Paranaque City in Metro Manila on Wednesday.

The Singaporean was rushed to Paranaque District Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Mr Jang, who owned Deltatronix Enterprises, a Philippine-based company that specialises in calibration instruments, had lived in the Philippines for more than 10 years with his Filipino wife and two-year-old child.

Chief Inspector Arnold Dugas of the Paranaque police told The New Paper over the phone yesterday that the motive for the attack is still unknown.

The manner in which the gunmen targeted Mr Jang in his office, shot him at close range and left without taking anything suggests that it could have been an execution-style hit.

Two of Mr Jang's cousins, who gave their names as Mr Lin and Mr Han, were at his family home in Jurong East when TNP went there yesterday.

They said Mr Jang and his younger sister had planned for him to come home as a surprise for his mother's birthday yesterday and his father's birthday, which is today.

Mr Lin, who works in the government sector, said: "The family is definitely not all right. The birthday cake is still sitting in the fridge.

"It was meant to be a celebration."

FILIAL

Mr Han, who is in the private sector, said Mr Jang was very close to his younger sister and was a filial son who took care of the family.

"Knowing that he wanted to give them a surprise for their birthdays makes it even worse. They were a close-knit family," he said.

The cousins described Mr Jang as a jovial and caring person.

Despite being based in the Philippines for many years, Mr Jang made the effort to meet up with his extended family whenever he came back to Singapore.

He also kept in touch with them via Whatsapp, said his cousins who grew up with Mr Jang and would meet him every week when they were young.

Said Mr Lin: "Although we're all busy working now and he was overseas, we still tried to keep in contact and help each other."

When Mr Jang's sister told them about the tragedy on Wednesday, their initial reaction was one of disbelief.

'RISKY'

Mr Lin said: "With our Singapore mindset and the level of safety here, you would never have expected this.

"Being overseas can be risky, but the nature of the attack is something you think would never happen."

Asked if Mr Jang had any enemies, they said they had no idea if anyone might have wanted to hurt him because they did not discuss work matters when Mr Jang was back in Singapore.

"He came back only a few times a year so when we were together, we would talk about more personal stuff and not about our jobs," said Mr Lin.