BUREAU of Immigration (BI) officers have arrested a Vietnamese national who attempted to flee the country to evade prosecution for kidnapping and raping a Chinese woman two years ago .
The suspect, identified as Nguyen Hu Mai, who was intercepted at the NAIA Terminal 3 prior to boarding a Cebu Pacific flight to Saigon.
BI commissioner Anthony Joel Viado said Nguyen was immediately turned over to the BI’s border control and intelligence unit (BCIU) and later transferred to the bureau’s detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.
“Our supervisors were able to establish that the passenger and person appearing in our watchlist are one and the same. He was thus stopped and arrested by our airport personnel,” he added.
According to BI-BCIU chief Ferdinand Tendenilla, Nguyen has been on the wanted list of the BI since March 10 when he and two Chinese nationals were charged for deportation as undesirable aliens and linked to the kidnapping and rape cases.
Police reports revealed that on March 2, 2023, the three foreigners conspired in kidnapping a Chinese woman inside her condominium unit in Makati City, and later taken to a secluded place where they sexually molested her multiple times.
The two Chinese involved in the kidnapping and rape were arrested earlier and currently detained.
They also reportedly demanded P4-million ransom from the victims’ relatives in exchange for her release.
Nguyen will remain in the BI’s custody until the criminal complaints against him are resolved by the court. If convicted, he will have to serve first serve his sentence before he can be deported.