A Philippine court found a former mayor guilty of qualified human trafficking and sentenced her to life imprisonment over her role in setting up a scam centre that victimised foreigners, as Southeast Asian governments vow to fight transnational criminal syndicates.
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A regional trial court issued the verdict against ex-Bamban town chief Alice Guo, according to the Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission. There was no immediate reaction from Guo and her lawyers.
Guo helped incorporate Baofu Land Development that owned an eight-hectare (20 acres) complex in Bamban town, north of Manila, before running for mayor in 2022.
Guo’s Chinese-born business associates, Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying, who were convicted in Singapore’s largest money laundering case, were also among the incorporators of Baofu, which hosted a Philippine offshore gaming operator that employed hundreds of foreigners and targeted bettors overseas.
Employees there complained that they were coerced to carry out investment and love scams and were beaten up or electrocuted when they failed to hit their quotas.
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Philippine officials in hot water over selfies with fugitive mayor Alice Guo
Philippine officials in hot water over selfies with fugitive mayor Alice Guo
The court’s verdict comes at a time when Southeast Asian leaders have expressed alarm over rising cybercrimes and online scams perpetrated by transnational criminal rings.