China has urged the Philippines to find and “severely punish” the killers of a kidnapped Chinese citizen in a case that has led to a diplomatic intervention by Beijing.

The Chinese embassy in Manila said it had been informed a few days ago that the person had been kidnapped in the Philippines, and it assisted the family in reporting the case to the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Bureau.

It also intervened through diplomatic channels to ask for a rescue and that measures be taken to ensure the person’s safety, according to a statement from the embassy on Tuesday.

“We urge the Philippines to intensify efforts to investigate the case, capture and severely punish the murderers as soon as possible,” China’s embassy said in the statement.

One of the victims was an international marketing director of Hong Kong-listed company Raimed Medical Limited, and the other worked as a distributor for a cardiovascular medical device company, Yicai Global, a financial news outlet under Shanghai Media Group, reported, citing a source. Raimed has not commented on the incident.

The two people travelled together to the Philippines on a business trip around June 20 and were killed on June 24, after the family of one of the victims paid a ransom of 3 million yuan (US$412,600), according to Chinese media reports.

Last month, four police officers assigned to the Philippine capital region were arrested for kidnapping three Chinese and a Malaysian tourist for ransom.

In 20 recorded kidnapping cases since January last year, most of the victims were Chinese, according to authorities.