Clues help Indonesian police arrest former Philippine mayor suspected of being Chinese
Sep 08, 2024
Jakarta [Indonesia], September 8: GMA News today, September 7, quoted Mr. Rendel Sy, Head of the Fugitive Search Unit of the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI), saying that traces from Ms. Alice Guo 's active mobile phone SIM led Indonesian police to the house she was staying in Tangereng City (Indonesia).
Indonesian authorities traced the SIM card to one of the hotels where Ms Guo stayed. "She had three mobile phones and some of them were active. These SIM cards helped the police track her location," Mr Sy said.
In one video, Ms. Guo is seen opening the door of her room in her pajamas when Indonesian police knock on the door. She then calmly asks law enforcement to give her time to change.
According to BI, a nun whom Ms. Guo had met earlier was the owner of the house. Authorities also identified four Chinese and Indonesian citizens who helped Ms. Guo hide in Indonesia.
"We were greatly assisted in identifying her contacts in Indonesia. She was accompanied by a Chinese person who helped her with logistics there, as well as hotel bookings. They used the names of local contacts to book the hotels," Sy added.
The regional court in Capas City, Tarlac Province, Philippines, issued an arrest warrant for Ms. Guo on corruption charges while she was in the process of being deported to the Philippines on September 5.
Before returning to Manila on the morning of September 6, Ms. Guo told GMA News that she was ready to return to the Philippines. She refused to answer when asked how she was able to escape the Philippines and go into hiding abroad.
Ms. Guo fled the Philippines in July despite being listed in the Philippine immigration watchdog.
Alice Guo became Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac province in 2022 as a Filipino citizen. However, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) later determined that Alice Guo and Chinese national Guo Hua Ping are the same person. Philippine law does not allow foreigners to run for public office.
Last month, Ms. Guo was removed from her post as mayor for serious violations related to her role in illegal gambling in Bamban. Ms. Guo asserted that she was a naturalized citizen of the Philippines and denied the allegations.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
