Pangasinan RTC convicts 3 persons of human trafficking in 'mail-order bride' scheme — NBI

Three persons engaged in “mail-order bride” scheme have been convicted of human trafficking by the regional trial court (RTC) in San Carlos City, Pangasinan, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

In a statement, the NBI said those convicted of violation of Section 4(a) and (b) in relation to Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9208 (the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 as amended by RA 10364) were Filipino national Violeta Aquino and Chinese nationals Li Chun Rong and Lai Wei Qi. It said Qi remained at large.

The NBI said the trial court was convinced that based on the pieces of evidence and testimonies of their victim and other witnesses, “the accused are guilty of violation of the said law.”

“The three (3) accused were sentenced to suffer imprisonment of twenty (20) years and to pay a fine of P1,000,000. They were also ordered to pay the complainant (victim) a total amount of P400,000 for damages,” it said.

It said the case was filed before the RTC by the NBI's International Airport Division (NBI-IAID) based on the complaint filed against them by a female victim who got repatriated from China.

It said that during the investigation on the complaint, the NBI-IAID “confirmed that the accused are indeed engaged in the said modus operandi” (mail-order bride).

“Based on the investigation, sometime in 2017 in Urbiztundo, Pangasinan, Li Chun Rong and Violeta Aquino recruited the victim to work in China on the condition that she would marry Lai Wei Qi, a Chinese national, who was introduced to her by accused Li Chun Rong and Violeta Aquino,” the NBI said.

“After consummation of the marriage and for an undetermined consideration, accused sent the victim to China, where instead of landing a job, was detained, her passport and visa seized and was sexually exploited/abused by accused Law Wei Qi and his brother-in-law,” it added.