DAVAO CITY, Philipines—The 78 Taiwanese arrested here on Wednesday on suspicion of involvement in large-scale fraud using the Internet and phone could not be criminally charged under Philippine laws, a ranking police official said.
“They have not violated (any Philippine laws) and probably they will just be deported,” city police director Senior Supt. Ronald dela Rosa said. The suspects would be tried in Taiwan for defrauding many victims, most of them the elderly and the retirees, of “millions of dollars,” he added.
“They are an international financial fraud syndicate but their victims were mainly Taiwanese and not Filipinos,” Dela Rosa said.
Based on police investigation, the group conducted their operation in the city using rented houses in such upscale subdivisions as Ladislawa village, the police chief said. From their base here, the suspects would call potential victims in Taiwan, telling them that they failed to pay certain debts.
If a victim refused to heed the demand, the group would threaten them to be reported to the police.
Other members of the syndicate would then call the victims and pretend to be from the police. The victims would be ordered to pay their supposed debts through bank transfers.
“The group conducted their operation discreetly for the past two months,” Dela Rosa said.
He said the raids conducted in different areas of the city, which resulted in the arrest of the suspects, were at the behest of Taipei.
Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said the Taiwanese government believed that the group was not only involved in extortion but kidnappings as well.
Dela Rosa said they were also investigating some Chinese nationals living in the city for complicity. “They may have helped the group set up its operation here,” he said.
The 78 Taiwanese are now being held at the Davao City Police Office pending deportation procedures. Dennis Jay Santos, Inquirer Mindanao