By Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has initiated a manhunt against a South Korean who escaped while attending a hearing of a case against him in Quezon City.
In a statement Wednesday, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the suspect Na Ikhyeon, 38, was able to flee despite the presence of his counsel while in a hearing of an estafa case at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday.
Initial investigation showed Na escaped through the court’s restroom.
“We are investigating if his counsel has knowledge of this seemingly pre-planned incident. We have also assigned a special tracker team to locate him and again take custody,” he said in a statement.
The BI noted that South Korean authorities said Na misled his compatriots by directing them to invest in non-existent accounts.
He and his partners then withdrew the investments for their personal gain.
He was previously arrested on May 31, 2023 and was held in the bureau’s facility while awaiting his deportation.
However, his deportation was deferred pending the resolution of the estafa case filed by a Filipino woman.
The complainant, an owner of a small jewelry business, said that Na consigned several jewelries as an agent, but failed to remit the full amount of sales despite several demands.
Meanwhile, the BI reported the arrest of a Chinese man tagged as a money launderer for illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
Wang Zhouyu, 35, was arrested along Roberts St. in Pasay City by operatives of the BI’s fugitive search unit on Tuesday.
He is considered an undesirable alien after the BI was informed by Chinese authorities that Wang has a standing warrant of arrest issued by the Qinhuangdao Public Security Bureau for Fraud in Violation of the Article 82 of the PRC Criminal Procedure Law dated Feb. 18, 2025.
Wang and his cohorts reportedly established a network that has been deeply involved in money laundering activities, and coordinates with other fraud groups based in mainland China in order to facilitate fund transfer service of their illegal revenues.
Foreign authorities have traced financial transactions amounting to CNY19 million that are linked to 23 criminal cases.
Wang is reported as a money launderer of illegal POGO operations and scam hubs in the country, assisting them in the illicit movement of funds.
He has been detained and placed in the BI’s facility inside Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City pending his deportation. (PNA)
