A Philippine court on Thursday sentenced Alice Guo, the former mayor of Bamban, north of Manila, to life in prison on human trafficking charges.
Guo, identified by law enforcement as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, became mayor after posing as a Filipina and was involved in running a Chinese-run online gambling and scam organization.
Sentence seen as ‘legal victory’
State prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas said a total of eight foreign nationals, including Guo, received life sentences.
Torrevillas said, “After just over a year, the court…gave us a favorable verdict. Alice (Guo) was convicted along with seven other co-accused. Life imprisonment.”
He was sentenced to 40 years in prison and a fine of 2 million Philippine pesos ($33,875), local media reported.
“This eagerly awaited verdict is not only a legal victory, but also a moral one. It gives justice to victims, reaffirming the government’s united stance against organized crime,” the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said in a statement.
case against guo
Hundreds of people were scammed or forced to face torture at a compound in Bamban, Central Luzon.
Authorities raided the scam center in March 2024 following a tip off from a Vietnamese employee who managed to escape.
This resulted in more than 700 Filipinos, Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysians, Taiwanese, Indonesians and Rwandans being found in the huge compound.
Documents were also discovered that clearly showed Guo was the president of the company that owned the complex.
Guo was arrested by Indonesian police in September 2024 after fleeing from Filipino authorities.
A large number of cyber crime activities have been reported in Southeast Asia, involving thousands of scammers.
according to UN statisticsIn 2023, people in the region will spend approximately $37 billion (€32.1 billion).
Edited by: Elisabeth Schumacher