Recently, a murder and dismemberment case occurred in Manila's Chinatown. Police stated that the arrested suspect claimed to be Taiwanese and possessed a Taiwanese passport. However, after a liaison officer from the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) stationed in the Philippines went to the police station to confirm, it was revealed that the suspect is from mainland China, and the forged Taiwanese passport was illegally purchased online.
According to a Central News Agency report, on the 15th, a citizen discovered a blue plastic barrel near Manila's Chinatown. Upon opening it, they were shocked to find dismembered human remains inside. Police followed leads and first arrested a Chinese individual suspected of assisting in transporting the body, and on the 19th arrested the primary suspect, who at the time of arrest was holding a Taiwanese passport and claimed to be Taiwanese.
On the 20th, a CIB liaison officer stationed in the Philippines visited the police station to check the suspect’s identity. The suspect admitted to being from Xinjiang, China, and stated the passport was illegally acquired online.
Because Philippine media initially reported—based on police information—that the suspect was Taiwanese, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines issued a statement the same day clarifying that the suspect’s Taiwanese passport was a forged document.
The statement pointed out that representatives from the office met with the suspect to conduct consular identity verification. During the interview, the suspect was unable to provide a valid Taiwanese National ID number, and admitted to being a Chinese national. He further revealed that the forged Taiwanese passport was purchased via the Telegram app.
According to information released by the police, a character in the suspect’s Chinese name, “小,” is translated as “Xiao” in English, which does not match the standard Taiwanese transliteration of “Hsiao.”