A Japanese fugitive who is wanted for abduction and rape in his country was arrested in Paranaque City last May 6, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Friday, May 10.
He was identified by the BI as Sugihara Hirotaka, 38, who was arrested by agents of the bureau's Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU).
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said: "We will deport him as soon as we have secured the necessary clearances for his departure."
"He cannot return to the Philippines as he was already blacklisted and banned from re-entering the country,” Tangsingco said.
The BI said that Hirotaka has been hiding in the Philippines since his arrival on May 6, 2019 as a tourist and has been found already overstaying.
“It was learned that Hirotaka’s arrest and deportation was sought by Japanese authorities in Manila in August 2021 after he was implicated in the abduction and rape of a woman in Osaka in 2019,” it said.
“A warrant for Hirotaka’s arrest was reportedly issued by the Osaka summary court where he was charged with abduction for the purpose of obscenity and rape resulting to injury in violation of Japan’s Penal Code,” it added.
Under the case, the BI said Hirotaka allegedly abducted a young female victim on the street and brought her to an abandoned area in Osaka where she was assaulted and raped.
Apart from this, the bureau said it was also learned that the Japanese is also a suspect in a series of violent incidents of abduction and rape of other minors in Japan.