Chinese con man arrested

CEBU, Philippines — A Chinese national was arrested after allegedly using a phone-swapping scam to get ?25,000 from a businessman in Barangay Talamban, Cebu City, last Thursday.

The suspect was identified as Pan Qinhai, 53, a Chinese national from Shanghai, China.

Police said the victim, identified only as alias “Curt”, 22, a resident of Barangay Pit-os, sought police assistance through the One Button App after allegedly catching Qinhai following the suspected scam.

Personnel of the Talamban Police Station responded and found Qinhai being held by the victim and other people in the area.

According to the victim, Qinhai went to his coffee shop at around 11 A.M. and offered to sell an iPhone 17 Pro Max for ?35,000.

The victim inspected the phone and believed it was an original unit. Since he only had ?25,000 at home, he asked Qinhai to accompany him to his house to get the money.

Qinhai reportedly agreed and went with the victim in his vehicle.

After the victim got the money, they proceeded to an area outside a mall to complete the transaction.

The victim handed over the ?25,000 and received the cellphone from Qinhai, who allegedly walked away immediately after the exchange.

The victim then noticed that the cellphone he received was no longer the original iPhone 17 Pro Max he had inspected earlier.

The victim chased Qinhai with help from his uncle and other bystanders. They managed to detain him until police arrived.

Police found that the cellphone handed to the victim was counterfeit and allegedly had been switched with the original device.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, deputy city director for Operations of the Cebu City Police Office, said Qinhai was also allegedly involved in a similar incident involving a 27-year-old man in Barangay Linao, Talisay City.

Pelare said Qinhai allegedly told the other victim that he no longer had money to buy a ticket back to China and wanted to sell his expensive cellphone. He allegedly used the same phone-swapping scam, replacing the original cellphone with a fake device.

Pelare said authorities are coordinating with the Talisay City police to determine whether Qinhai is connected to other similar incidents and whether there may be other victims in Cebu.

“Nag-coordinate na mi sa Talisay kay naay incident pud nga gi-perpetrate aning suspect, padayon ang pag-andam sa papeles unya mo-file tag kaso,” Pelare said.

Police urged the public to remain vigilant when dealing with unfamiliar individuals and transactions, particularly with the holiday season approaching and reminded the public to immediately report suspicious individuals or transactions to the police for appropriate action. — (FREEMAN)