THE 19 Taiwanese and five Chinese nationals who were arrested for allegedly operating an online scam will be deported to face a case in their respective countries.
However, they will still be charged with violating Republic Act (RA) 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which punishes persons who commit computer-related offense such as forgery, fraud and identity theft here in the country first.
Because the case is bailable, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 agents in coordination with Taiwanese police are facilitating their immediate deportation.
“They will face a case here in our country and we still have a lot of work to do because this is a technical case,” said NBI 7 Director Atty. Patricio Bernales Jr. in Cebuano.
Forensic experts will try to crack the seized computers’ database, which is in Mandarin, to assess the extent of the suspects’ alleged illegal operations.
Not alone
Bernales said they are monitoring other foreigners who might be operating similar scams.
“This is just the start. If everything goes well with the investigation and with our cooperation with Taiwan officials, we might find others here in Cebu,” he said in Cebuano.
The Background Investigation Division of the NBI will be tapped to help in the case.
The 24 foreigners allegedly blackmailed active and retired Taiwanese government officials whose financial records had been secured by the suspects’ cohorts.
The officials were tricked into paying a huge amount of money to drop a fake case against them.
Residents of mainland China also fell prey to the group, whose members introduced themselves as police or government prosecutors on the phone.
They allegedly collected millions from their victims.
The owner of the five-story house the suspects rented will also be investigated to determine if she had any involvement in the alleged scam, Bernales said.
A representative from the Taiwanese authority who requested anonymity for security purposes said 500 Taiwanese nationals, who were arrested for illegal online activities in the Philippines, have been deported in the last five years.
“Good example”
“This would make a good example for those who try to commit any wrongdoing in your country or any countries in the world,” he said.
Taiwanese authorities are still investigating if the suspects are part of a syndicate operating in the Philippines.
“We are still working and we have no idea. There’s a bunch of them,” he said.
Once they arrive in Taiwan, the Taiwanese nationals will face another lawsuit, which is equivalent to felony and they can face at least seven years imprisonment.
Here, they can post bail since initial investigation showed that they have no Filipino victims.
“… as long as we can secure the evidence right here we are confident that they will face them,” the Taiwanese official said.
He added that the suspects’ passports were confiscated upon their arrival here in the Philippines by someone who acted as their supervisors to limit their movements.
The suspects were arrested under a search warrant for alleged violations of RA 8484, or the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998, and RA 10175.
In September last year, the Police Regional Office 7 also arrested 69 nationals of Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China for a similar online fraud.