Cross-border effort leads to Taiwan fugitive's arrest in Philippines

Manila/Taipei, Feb. 8 (CNA) The Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Saturday that a Taiwanese fugitive was arrested in Metro Manila in late January as part of ongoing law enforcement cooperation with Taiwan.

The 33-year-old fugitive, surnamed Chien (簡), who had been on the run since 2023, was arrested on the evening of Jan. 28 in Pasay City by agents from the BI's Fugitive Search Unit working with the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation, the agency said.

The BI said that Chien was apprehended following official communication with Taiwanese authorities.

Records show that Chien is the subject of an arrest warrant issued on Aug. 31, 2023, by the Miaoli District Prosecutors Office in Taiwan on theft charges, the BI added.

Chien entered the Philippines in 2023 as a temporary visitor but failed to extend or convert his visa, making him an overstaying and "undesirable alien," the agency said.

Chien has been transferred to an immigration detention facility pending deportation, according to the BI.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines told CNA on Sunday that it will send personnel to visit Chien in the coming days and coordinate with the BI on the deportation process.

According to statistics compiled by TECO, its police and judicial liaison units have worked with Philippine law enforcement agencies to arrest 22 wanted Taiwanese fugitives since the start of 2025 through intelligence sharing and other forms of cooperation.

The office said it will continue to deepen cooperation with Philippine authorities to track down wanted fugitives and bring them to justice.

Before authorities announced Chien's arrest, 17 suspects in an online fraud case, including six with outstanding arrest warrants in Taiwan, were deported from Manila to Taiwan on Jan. 21 after being captured in Cebu City in May 2025.

Taiwanese investigators said on Jan. 23 the arrests followed 11 months of intelligence sharing and surveillance with local authorities.