TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A wanted Taiwanese man in the Philippines is facing deportation after he was rescued by Philippine police from being cooped up and brutalized as a result of his getting involved in contract disputes with the gambling company he had worked for.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines, which is Taiwan’s representative office in the country, said that the Pingtung District Court in December last year issued a warrant for the arrest of the Taiwanese man, surnamed Hsieh (謝), for violating the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act, CNA reported. However, Hsieh had run off to Xiamen in China’s Fujian Province in August.
The Taiwanese man later entered the Philippines, where he was employed by a gambling company. After he had contract disputes with the gambling firm, he was locked up and physically abused on Jan. 14, CNA reported, citing the representative office.
Responding to the man’s request for help, the representative office asked for assistance from the Philippine National Police, who rescued the Taiwanese man on Jan. 15.
The photo provided by the representative office shows many bruises and cuts on the man's body as a result of the abuse.
As Hsieh was wanted by Taiwan law enforcement, the representative office coordinated with the Philippines Bureau of Immigration and had him arrested on Jan. 17 for violating Philippine immigration laws. He was later sent to a detention center for foreigners, the representative office added.
After the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation issues proof that Hsieh was not involved in any criminal cases in the country, he will be deported to Taiwan, per CNA.
The representative office went on to point out that there have been 40 cases of Taiwanese who became entangled in disputes with the gambling industry in the Philippines and asked for the office’s help since 2018, with an unknown number of other Taiwanese who got themselves out of the predicament without reporting to the office.