BY JUN RAMIREZ
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) operatives have arrested a South Korean fugitive wanted by authorities in his country for large-scale fraud concerning non-delivery of face masks to his customers.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said 50-year-old Sin In Chul was arrested last Tuesday at his condominium in Taguig City by joint operatives from the bureau’s fugitive search unit (FSU) and Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).
The arresting officers were armed with a mission order that Morente issued at the request of the South Korean Embassy which informed the BI about the fugitive’s presence in the country.
“We will send him back to South Korea as soon as our Board of Commissioners issues the order for his summary deportation. He will be placed in our black list of undesirable aliens to prevent him from returning.” Morente said.
It was learned that the South Korean is the subject of a red notice issued by the Interpol after he was charged with fraud, and issued an arrest by a district court in Incheon, South Korea.
Prosecutors alleged that from January to March 2020, Sin defrauded 31 of his compatriots of more than 1.086 billion won (roughly $914,000) by selling them face masks that he did not deliver.
The suspect reportedly managed to dupe his victims by posting advertisement of his non-existent products over the Internet.
He was able to entice prospective buyers to advance and deposit their payments to his bank account. He pocketed the victims’ funds as he had no intention to deliver the masks. (Jun Ramirez)
