A beauty queen was allegedly kidnapped and murdered after being lured to the Philippines by a close friend pretending to organise a luxury getaway.
Popular Chinese influencer Athena Liya, real name Kong Limei, vanished after travelling to Manila in June 2023.
Athena, who was the second runner-up in the 2021 Miss World Macau pageant, has now been confirmed dead.
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Her close friend Li Yifei, who allegedly lured her to the Philippines, remains at large, as reported by Need To Know.
According to reports, Li invited Athena to join her on a luxury trip to the Philippines, claiming she needed cheering up after a break-up.
However, she allegedly cancelled her own flight at the last minute, saying something had suddenly come up.
Athena travelled from Guangzhou to Manila alone and was allegedly seized by members of a kidnapping gang after landing.
Li then reportedly deleted her social media accounts and fled overseas.
The gang took control of Athena’s social media accounts and posted misleading updates, including claims that she had incurred huge gambling debts.
Her family reportedly paid a ransom of 800,000 USD (£593,000), but the kidnappers did not release her.
As the investigation progressed, another alleged member of the gang, Chen Yuxuan, was arrested in South Korea in September 2024.
A major breakthrough came on 20 July this year, when alleged gang mastermind Liu Hanwen was extradited from the US to China.
Following his return to China, reports said investigators confirmed that Athena had been murdered and that her body had been disposed of.
Athena had more than 1m followers across Chinese social-media platforms including Douyin, Xiaohongshu and Weibo.
Her age has not been reliably established, with conflicting reports giving different birth years.
Li remains at large.
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