3 foreigners arrested for violations of immigration laws
Three foreigners have been arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for violations of immigration laws, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Sept. 2, BI identified the arrested foreigners as Thai national Teerasade Phutthichotiruksa and Chinese nationals Chen Changdian and Lyu Yani.
BI said that last Aug. 31, an immigration officer noticed discrepancies and irregularities in the stamps on Teerasade’s passport and were subjected to further inspection through the forensic documents laboratory.
It said the forensic inspection confirmed that the stamps were counterfeit. It said that Phutthichotiruksa was arrested, informed of his rights and transferred to the BI’s facility in Taguig City for deportation proceedings.
It said Chen attempted to depart on bord Scoot Airlines bound for Singapore last Friday, Sept. 1. During inspection, BI said it was found that Chen’s name is in the database of derogatory records.
BI said that Chen is the subject of an Interpol red notice after being wanted for prosecution at the United Arab Emirates for the crime of murder in 2022. He reportedly arrived in May 2022, and was only tagged as a fugitive in November of the same year.
Also on Sept. 1, Lyu was to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Bangkok when she was stopped and arrested. BI said that Lyu is also in the Interpol’s red notice and wanted for running a gambling house.
Both Chen and Lyu are now facing deportation proceedings, BI said.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that the three cases highlight the roles of immigration officers in peace and order.
Tansingco said: "These cases underscore the importance of our immigration officers' vigilance and expertise in detecting fake documents. Our officers are trained to spot irregularities [and] will arrest foreign nationals who attempt to use fraud to be able to travel.”