Female Chinese nationals face anti-trafficking charges 

The four female Chinese nationals believed to be the managers of 34 women who were rescued in an operation conducted by NBI agents will be facing anti-trafficking charges. CDN Digital photo | Alven Marie A. Timtim

Cebu City, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation Central Visayas Region Office (NBI-7) on Monday, August 5, 2019, filed anti-trafficking charges against four Chinese women who allegedly trafficked 34 fellow Chinese women in a KTV bar in Barangay Agus, Lapu-Lapu City.

The four women who were arrested were Zeng Dan, 28 years old; Quan Yiqing, 27 years old; Xiuzhu Wei, 45 years old; and Xiushen Wei, 44 years old. 

They are believed to be the managers of the 34 women who were rescued in an operation conducted by NBI agents of Manila and Cebu on Friday evening, August 2, 2019, in a hotel compound that was reported for prostitution activity.

The rescued female Chinese nationals at the NBI-7 office. CDN Digital photo | Alven Marie A. Timtim

The four will be facing charges for violating the provisions of Republic Act 9208, known as Anti-trafficking of Persons Act, in relation to Republic Act 10364 or the Act Expanding RA 9208.

Four other female Chinese nationals, identified as Lingyuan Hunag, Xiabing Lin, Zhang Yue, and Li Ping, were also identified as mangers of the bar and will face the same charges but they remain at large as they weren’t in the area during the operation. The NBI-7 said it will continue to investigate the case to trace the four others at large.

The 34 women who were rescued were turned over to the Chinese Consular Office.

According to NBI 7 Regional Director Tomas Enrile, based on their investigation, the 34 women aged 25 to 30 years old were recruited to work for a Legal Online Gaming Operation (LOGO) in the Philippines. But upon entering the country, they were instead made to work as  Guest Relations Officers (GRO) in the KTV bar, where they were tasked to serve and entertain  costumers. /bmjo