THE Korean who escaped earlier this month while attending a court hearing in Quezon City confessed that he paid his Filipino contacts P6 million to enable him to bolt.
Na Ikhyeon, who was arrested by the Bureau of Immigration in May 2023 for a string of fraud cases in Korea, said at the Senate sub-committee on justice and human rights hearing that two Filipinos he identified only as “Paul” and “Raul” facilitated his escape last March 4 while they were at the Quezon City Hall of Justice.
Na said that Paul and Raul “personally talked to me and said they can help me escape.”
He added that the former identified himself as a ranking officer of the Bureau of Immigration head office in Intramuros, Manila; while Raul said he was a police officer.
Speaking through an interpreter via video conferencing, Na said the two Filipinos asked that they be trusted so they “can bail me out.”
“If I will pay them in cash, they will help me escape,” Na said.
Apart from these revelations, however, Na did not provide other details, including how he paid the two Filipinos and how he was able to obtain such a huge amount of cash.
Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said they do not have a BI employee or officer named Paul, adding there are no police officers detailed at the bureau. He added that he does not know Raul.
Na said it was not the first time that he attempted to escape after he was arrested in May 2023.
He said that a fellow Korean whom he identified as Kim Song Hwan, who allegedly works in a casino in Clark, Pampanga offered to “bail” him out for P8 million.
He said the latest information he got was that Kim had already fled to Malaysia.
Na said the escape was planned a month after his arrest but failed. He added that the second attempt was in November 2023 but failed again.
The third attempt was successful but Na was recaptured in Angeles City, Pampanga a few days later.
Viado said the three BI personnel who escorted Na to the court have been axed and criminal and administrative charges filed against them.
Viado said Na’s companion identified as Kang Changbeom, who was also arrested with him, was the one who hired the escape vehicle.
He said the three BI personnel using a BI vehicle whisked Na away from the QC court and brought him to Pegasus Club along Quezon Ave. where they waited for Kang.
The club’s management said it has already provided the BI and the Senate sub-committee with copies of the CCTV footage taken on the day of the escape.
Viado said they were able to get the vehicle’s plate number and traced it to a rental services office in Pampanga. The company in turn pointed to a house in Angeles City where the driver dropped off Na and Kang.
He said the BI would also talk to Na to get more information on his escape.
To prevent similar incidents from happening again, Viado said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla instructed him to ask the courts to hear cases involving foreigners via video conferencing.
He said they also asked the Bureau of Corrections, an agency under the DOJ, to train BI personnel on the proper handling of arrested aliens, and that BI personnel be provided with body cameras during operations and when escorting arrested foreigners.
Viado added that he has also discouraged hiring Job Order personnel to be assigned to arrested foreigners and limited them to serve as drivers.
He said they also asked the BuCor to allow the BI to use a portion of its building so that arrested foreigners can be detained there since the BI detention cell is so small that guards and detainees get familiar with one another.
