MANILA:- A Philippine court on Thursday (Nov 20) found a former mayor guilty of qualified human trafficking and sentenced her to life imprisonment over her role in setting up a scam centre that victimised foreigners, as South-East Asian governments vow to fight transnational criminal syndicates.
A regional trial court issued the verdict against ex-Bamban town chief Alice Guo (pic), according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission. There was no immediate reaction from Guo and her lawyers.
Guo helped incorporate Baofu Land Development Inc. that owned an eight-hectare (20 acres) complex in Bamban town, north of Manila, before running for mayor in 2022.
Guo’s Chinese-born business associates, Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying, who were convicted in Singapore’s largest money laundering case, were also among the incorporators of Baofu, which hosted a Philippine offshore gaming operator that employed hundreds of foreigners and targeted bettors overseas.
Employees there complained that they were coerced to carry out investment and love scams and were beaten up or electrocuted when they failed to hit their quotas.
The court’s verdict comes at a time when Southeast Asian leaders have expressed alarm over rising cybercrimes and online scams, perpetrated by transnational criminal rings.
Last month, leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations vowed to coordinate in going after criminals and prevent them from using the region as "a shelter and criminal hub.”
In the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in October signed a law banning offshore gaming operators, institutionalizing a policy he announced last year that was triggered by Guo’s case.
Guo, together with her associates, is also facing money laundering charges to which she has pleaded not guilty.
Her counsel had denied accusations by alleged casino kingpin She Zhijiang that Guo was a Chinese government agent. She Zhijiang was handed over to Chinese authorities in Bangkok last week after being detained in a Thai prison. - Bloomberg
