Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco on Saturday shared the arrest of 3 foreign nationals at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for violation of immigration laws.
Arrested last August 31 was Teerasade Phutthichotiruksa, 43, Thai national after attempting to depart on board a Thai Airways flight to Bangkok, Thailand.
Phutthichotiruksa presented himself for departure immigration formalities at NAIA Terminal 3, however the immigration officer noted discrepancies and irregularities in the stamps affixed in his Thailand passport.
This prompted authorities to subject the document to further inspection through the BI’s forensic documents laboratory. Forensic inspection confirmed that the stamps on the passport were counterfeit.
Phutthichotiruksa was consequently arrested, read his rights, and transferred to the BI’s facility in Bicutan, Taguig for initiation of deportation proceedings.
“This case underscores the importance of our immigration officers’ vigilance and expertise in detecting fake documents. Our officers are trained to spot irregularities will arrest foreign nationals who attempt to use fraud to be able to travel,” said Tansingco.
Meanwhile the BI also reported the arrest of 2 Chinese nationals in separate incidents.
Arrested last September 1 was Chinese national Chen Changdian, 32, after attempting to depart on board a Scoot Airlines bound for Singapore at the NAIA Terminal 3.
Upon primary inspection, it was found that Chen’s name was in the BI’s database of derogatory records.
Chen is the subject of an interpol red notice after being wanted for prosecution at the United Arab Emirates for the crime of murder in 2022. He reportedly arrived in May 2022, and was only tagged as a fugitive in November of the same year.
On same date, a Chinese woman was arrested at the NAIA Terminal 1 after attempting to fly to Bangkok on board a Philippine airlines flight.
The woman, identified as Lyu Yani, 30, was found to also be in the interpol’s list of wanted criminals.
She was tagged by the interpol as a fugitive wanted for the crime of running a gambling house.
Both were arrested and are currently facing deportation cases.
