BI deports 10 Vietnamese poachers

After serving 17 months in prison, the Bureau of Immigration yesterday said that they recently deported 10 Vietnamese fishermen who were caught poaching near Palawan province last year.

In a statement, BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said the 10 undesirable aliens from Palawan were sent back to their native country sometime last month after they have served their jail term.

The Vietnamese were reportedly caught by Maritime authorities off the coast of Balabac Island of Palawan on March 31 last year. They were con­victed for poaching by a regional trial court in Palawan.

Libanan said the 10 Vietnamese were among the 26 foreigners who were deported by the BI in September for violating Philippine Immigration laws. There are now only 67 foreigners detained at the Immigration jail in Bicutan.

Four of the 26 deportees were fugitives from justice who are wanted for serious crimes in their homeland.

BI Associate Commissioner Roy Almoro said two of the fugitives are Taiwanese nationals Kuo Hsiang Ting and Chin-Chun Lu, who are both wanted for fraud, while British national Kriss McCord was a convicted child molester, and Patrik Olof, a Swede, is wanted for fraud and embezzlement.

The other foreigners deported last month were four Iranians, three Malaysians, a Japanese, a Canadian, and another Briton.