"A court in the Philippines has sentenced a Chinese woman who became a local mayor while masquerading as a Philippine citizen and seven others to life in prison on human trafficking charges, a state prosecutor said. Alice Guo, 35, who served as mayor of a town north of Manila, was found guilty on Thursday of running a Chinese-operated gambling centre where hundreds of people were conscripted to carry out online scams on members of the public."
"In March 2024, police raided the sprawling centre linked to Guo, which included office buildings, luxury villas and a large swimming pool, after a Vietnamese worker escaped and alerted police. More than 700 Filipinos, Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysians, Taiwanese, Indonesians and Rwandans were found at the site, along with documents allegedly showing that Guo was president of a company that owned the compound."
"State prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas said that Guo who was arrested in Indonesia in September 2024 after fleeing the Philippines and seven other defendants would be jailed for life. After over just one year, the court gave us a favourable decision. Alice (Guo) was convicted along with seven other co-accused. Life imprisonment, Torrevillas said outside the regional court in Manila."
Alice Guo was convicted of operating a Chinese-run gambling compound that conscripted hundreds to carry out online scams and was sentenced to life imprisonment alongside seven co-defendants. Police raided the compound in March 2024 after a Vietnamese worker escaped and alerted authorities. The site contained office buildings, luxury villas, a large pool and documents linking Guo to ownership, with more than 700 victims of various nationalities found on site. Guo fled the Philippines and was arrested in Indonesia in September 2024. Prosecutors secured convictions for organising and committing trafficking within the compound.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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