Former Philippine mayor sentenced to life in prison for human trafficking

(CLO) Alice Guo, former Mayor of Bamban City, Philippines, has just been sentenced to life in prison for human trafficking.

On November 20, Philippine prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas said that after more than a year of trial, the court sentenced Alice Guo and seven accomplices to life in prison for human trafficking.

Guo’s co-defendants include: Jaimielyn Santos Cruz, Rachelle Malonzo Carreon, Walter Wong Rong, Wang Weili, Wuli Dong, Nong Ding Chang and Lang Xu Po. In addition to human trafficking charges, Guo also faces trial for money laundering and corruption.

Alice Guo. Photo: gov.ph

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who chaired the Senate inquiry into Guo's case, said the verdict was "a victory in the fight against corruption, human trafficking, cybercrime and other transnational crimes".

Guo, 35, was arrested by Indonesian police in September 2024 after fleeing the Philippines. Guo was elected mayor of Bamban City, north of Manila. However, a Manila court in June determined that Guo, a Chinese citizen, had falsified documents to obtain Philippine citizenship, and was therefore ineligible to hold the mayoral position.

According to the indictment, Guo was the mastermind behind a complex in Bamban City that was identified as a hub for online fraud activities run by Chinese criminal gangs, with millions of dollars stolen.

The foreign-run Baofu Land Development complex in Bamban has now closed. Photo: CC/Laura Gil

The sprawling complex, which includes office buildings, luxury villas and a large swimming pool, was raided in March 2024 after a Vietnamese national escaped and reported it to police.

Philippine military and police forces coordinated a raid on the complex, rescuing more than 700 victims from the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Rwanda. They also seized documents proving Guo was the chairman of the company that owned the complex.

The transnational fraud industry has boomed in Southeast Asia in recent years, with hundreds of thousands of people involved. According to a UN report, victims in the region were defrauded of up to $37 billion by 2023, and the actual global figure is likely to be much higher.

Faced with this situation, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a ban on international online gambling activities and ordered the deportation of foreign nationals working in the scam centers.

Source: https://congluan.vn/cuu-thi-truong-philippines-lanh-an-chung-than-vi-toi-buon-nguoi-10318690.html