SEN. Risa Hontiveros rejected the reported move by some immigration officials to grant bail to Chinese businessman Tony Yang, who was accused of money laundering and illegal online gaming operations in the country.
Yang has been linked to the illegal online gaming facility allegedly owned by dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo also known as Guo Hua Ping.
“He should stay in detention,” the senator said in a statement on Monday. Hontiveros said Yang has a warrant of arrest from China.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros
Yang, also known as Antonio Lim, is the brother of Michael Yang, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s economic adviser.
“I have received reports that there are officials in the Bureau of Immigration who attempted to push for the release on bail of Tony Yang,” she said.
“We have seen how easy it was for Guo Hua Ping to slip out. Is there reason to believe that this Tony Yang will follow the law?” she asked.
Hontiveros called on the Anti Money Laundering Council to speed up the investigation on Yang’s alleged money laundering activities.
Hontiveros said Yang has “made his fortune in the country by pretending to be Filipino.” “He, along with his brother Michael Yang, has exploited the Filipino people for his own gain,” she added.
Hontiveros said if Yang needs medical attention, he can seek treatment. “But he should remain under government custody,” she said.
Yang was apprehended at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sept. 19 by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, with assistance from the Bureau of Immigration and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, for alleged ties to various illegal activities.
Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla said the government would file criminal charges against Yang instead of immediately deporting him.
Yang, whose real name is Yang Jian Xin, admitted during a Senate investigation on illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators in September that he has a Philippine birth certificate despite being Chinese.
“It was my maternal grandfather who helped me process the birth certificate during the third or fourth year I came to the Philippines. I was not aware of this, maybe he thinks it was for my convenience so I can build a business here,” Yang told the senators.
Be the first to comment