Another Korean Who Escaped While Imprisoned for Fraud Case Also Caught by Local Police
Photo by Asia Economy DB
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Two Koreans, including one who escaped from prison while incarcerated on charges of killing three Korean residents in the Philippines, were captured by local police.
The National Police Agency announced on the 30th that they received notification on the 28th that Park (41), a Korean who was imprisoned in a prison in Pampanga Province in northern Philippines last October and escaped while attending a local court in nearby Tarlac Province, had been arrested.
They also reported that Song (44), another Korean who was imprisoned at the Bicutan Immigration Detention Center near Metro Manila on fraud charges and escaped after going to a hospital for treatment in January, was captured on the same day.
Park was arrested on charges of shooting and killing three Korean men and women in a sugarcane field in Bacolor City, Pampanga Province, on October 11, 2016, along with accomplice Kim (38), and abandoning their bodies.
At the time, the victims had fled to the Philippines to avoid police investigation after engaging in a fraudulent investment scheme involving approximately 15 billion KRW.
Park and others are accused of providing shelter to the victims, committing the crime, taking about 2.4 million KRW in cash from the victims' safe, and withdrawing over 700 million KRW from a joint investment in a local casino with one of the victims.
Kim, who was tried in Korea for this case, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but Park escaped from a local immigration detention center while awaiting extradition to Korea on March 6, 2017, and was caught about three months later.
Subsequently, he was detained locally on charges of murder and drug possession.
Park also faced additional charges of illegal weapon possession and disappeared on October 16 last year after attending a hearing at the Tarlac Provincial Court and stopping by a restaurant on the way back to prison.
Local police stated that Park went alone to the restroom without escorting officers and escaped through a ventilation duct.
In the Philippines, on the 10th of this month, a Korean named Lim (36), who was detained in a police station jail, seized a police officer’s gun and escaped but was captured three days later.
A police official explained, "We plan to coordinate with Philippine authorities and our Ministry of Justice to expedite the suspect’s extradition."
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