The Philippines yesterday repatriated 17 Taiwanese suspected of financial fraud to face trial in Taiwan after arresting them in a joint law enforcement operation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
In May, Philippine police detained the suspects in Cebu following an 11-month investigation conducted in collaboration with Taiwanese law enforcement, the Taipei Cultural and Economic Office in the Philippines said in a statement.
The Taiwanese nationals included six fugitives wanted for other crimes, the office said, adding that local police had arrested them in a residential building believed to have been converted to a call center.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The detainees told the office’s representatives that their living conditions were unfavorable and they wanted to be tried in Taiwan, it said.
Office Deputy Director-General Lee Ting-sheng (李廷盛), who supervised the handover of the suspects to Taiwanese police at Manila airport, praised the commitment to the rule of law and professionalism of the Philippine police.
Countering fraud is a priority law enforcement policy of Taiwanese agencies, and the joint police operation has made Taiwan and the Philippines safer, the office quoted Lee as saying.
Police and prosecutors in Taiwan would take over the investigation as it pertains to the extradited Taiwanese and decide the next legal steps, he said.
Taiwanese living or traveling abroad should be aware that the nation’s law enforcement possesses ample technological capabilities to track down and punish those who commit fraud from outside Taiwan’s borders, Lee said.
The office continues to oversee efforts toward deepening collaboration with the Philippines in law enforcement operations, justice, protecting citizens from both nations from international crime and regional stability, he said.
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