Binondo drum murder suspect a Chinese national, Taiwan office in PH says
Pasay City Police Chief Col. Joselito De Sesto with the arrested mastermind believed to be behind the gruesome killing of a Chinese national whose body was stuffed inside a blue drum in Manila. (Photo courtesy of Pasay City Police)
A foreign national tagged as the alleged mastermind in the killing and dismemberment of a body found inside a drum in Binondo, Manila is a Chinese citizen, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) said.
In a statement on Friday, Feb. 20, TECO said the suspect, who was initially tagged as a Taiwanese, turned out to be a Chinese national who used a counterfeit Taiwanese passport.
"Upon learning that the arrested individual was described in certain reports as a Taiwanese national, TECO immediately initiated verification procedures. After carefully examining the passport presented by the suspect, this Office confirms that the document is a forged Taiwanese passport," TECO disclosed.
According to TECO, they visited the suspect, who was arrested on Wednesday in Parañaque City, to conduct consular verification.
However, during the interview, "the suspect was unable to provide a valid Taiwan national identification number and admitted that he is a Chinese national."
He further confessed that he purchased the fraudulent Taiwanese passport through a messaging application, TECO added.
TECO further said that Taiwan respects the judicial process of the Philippines and will continue to cooperate with authorities in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, particularly in matters involving document fraud and transnational crime.
"We appreciate the professionalism and cooperation extended by Philippine law enforcement authorities in facilitating the verification process," TECO also said.