BI intercepts Vietnamese wanted for kidnapping, rape at NAIA

DAVAO CITY —The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has arrested a Vietnamese national wanted in the Philippines for the kidnapping and rape of a Chinese woman two years ago.

In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado identified the suspect as 48-year-old Nguyen Hu Mai, who was intercepted on March 21 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 while attempting to board a Cebu Pacific flight to Saigon.

Viado said Nguyen was flagged for secondary inspection after his name triggered a positive match in the BI’s centralized derogatory database.

“Our supervisors confirmed that the passenger matched the identity on our watchlist. He was subsequently stopped and arrested by our airport personnel,” Viado said.

Nguyen was turned over to the BI’s Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BCIU) and later transferred to the BI detention facility at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

According to BCIU chief Ferdinand Tendenilla, Nguyen has been on the BI’s wanted list since March 10. He and two Chinese nationals face deportation charges for being undesirable aliens, as they are prime suspects in the 2023 kidnapping and rape case.

Police said that on March 2, 2023, the three suspects abducted a Chinese woman from her condominium in Makati City and took her to a remote location, where they allegedly sexually assaulted her multiple times. They later demanded a ransom of P4 million from her family in exchange for her release.

Tendenilla said Nguyen will remain in BI custody while the criminal complaints are being heard in court. Should he be convicted, he must serve his sentence before any deportation proceedings can proceed.

“He will also be placed on the immigration blacklist and permanently banned from re-entering the country,” Tendenilla added.