BI nabs Chinese posing as Mexican

MANILA, Philippines — A Chinese man was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Saturday morning for allegedly posing as a Mexican.

Lho Zhi Min, 53, was apprehended by Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the NAIA Terminal 1 after he presented a fake Mexican passport as he was about to depart for Kuala Lumpur on a Malaysian Airlines flight.

Lho was subjected to tertiary inspection after immigration officers doubted the authenticity of his documents. He presented his Mexican passport but was unable to give direct answers to basic questions, according to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco.

The BI’s forensic documents laboratory also reportedly confirmed that the passport was indeed fraudulent.

Lho was placed under arrest on the charge of violating the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.

After undergoing inquest proceedings, he will remain in the BI’s detention facility at Camp Bagong Diwa pending his deportation, Tansingco said.

Meanwhile, the BI also caught two fugitives in separate operations.

South Korean Lee Poong Keun, 53, is reportedly the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Incheon district court on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and extortion. He is also reportedly the subject of 12 other arrest warrants issued by different courts in Korea for various crimes.

Lee was arrested in Barangay Sta. Cruz, Angeles City on March 18,
BI-Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) acting chief Rendel Ryan Sy said.

Lee has a deportation order pending since 2016, Sy added.

The BI-FSU also arrested Chinese Huang Xuyang, 47, in Binondo, Manila on March 22.

He is reportedly wanted by the public security bureau in Qinhuangdao City for allegedly refusing to execute court judgments.

Tansingco said Lee and Huang are awaiting deportation and have been included in the BI’s blacklist.