Manila
A fugitive former mayor from the Philippines, accused of having links to a Chinese crime syndicate, was detained in Indonesia Tuesday (Sep 3). Alice Guo, also known as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, fled the nation after refusing to attend a congressional hearing on her alleged China links in July.
According to the Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), Guo first fled to Malaysia and then to Singapore on her Philippine passport, before entering Indonesia in August.
Her arrest was verified by the Philippines immigration department, the justice ministry said, adding that Guo was “in the custody of the Indonesian police at Jatanras Mabes Polri”.
Before being removed, Guo served as the mayor of Bamban town in Tarlac province.
Allegations against her
A Senate probe against her began in May when a raid on a Bamban casino unveiled alleged scams being perpetrated from a facility built on land partially owned by the mayor. Around 1,000 workers, and victims of human trafficking, along with luxury villas, high-end cars, and expensive cognac were unearthed during the raid.
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The AMLC in August filed multiple counts of money laundering against Guo and 35 others before the Department of Justice. The mayor allegedly laundered over 100m pesos ($1.8m) in proceeds from criminal activities.
Concerns over her origin
During previous congressional hearings, questions were raised over her origins and childhood. She claimed she grew up on a pig farm in Bamban and was schooled by a teacher named Rubilyn. But schooling records later probed by the Senate revealed some inconsistencies in her claims. “We’re puzzled – where did she come from?” the president had asked in May.
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Later, the country’s election commission in a bombshell revelation found that the fingerprints on her election records matched those of a Chinese citizen.
Guo claims she is a natural-born Philippine national and a “lovechild” of a Chinese national and his wife’s helper. Meanwhile, her lawyer claimed she fled the country after being traumatised by the hearings.
(With inputs from agencies)