3 Koreans face illegal gambling raps

CEBU, Philippines — Three Korean nationals are facing charges before the court for allegedly operating an illegal online gambling in a condominium in Cebu City.

Hyeonhee Na, 25, Taejin Maeng, 21, and Sanggwi Ji, 21, all occupants of Unit 318, Avida Tower-2, Villa St., Apas Road, IT Park in Barangay Lahug, were held for trial.

Bail recommended is P60,000 each.

In an inquest proceeding, the foreigners opted not to undergo further investigation. Instead, they manifested to face the charges in court.

On December 22, 2018, operatives of the Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG) in Central Visayas served the search warrant against Kyoungil Han and others for violating Presidential Decree 1602 as amended by Republic Act (RA) 9287 (An Act Increasing the Penalties for Illegal Numbers Games) in relation to RA 10175 (cyber crime).

The Koreans were allegedly operating an online betting games, such as horse racing, odd/even betting, major league baseball (MBL-American baseball), and real time NBA game results, without authorization from the Philippines Amusement and Gambling Corporation (PAGCOR).

Said illegal activities were conducted inside the condominium unit they rented.

The RSOG-7 operatives arrested Na, Maeng and Ji, but failed to arrest Han.

"Said persons were caught in flagrante delicto operating an online illegal gambling game through their respective computers. These Koreans were operating an online betting such as online horse racing, online odd/even betting, MBL-American Baseball, and real time NBA game result," read the joint affidavit.

Seized from the Koreans were computer sets and universal serial bus (USB) flash drives. (FREEMAN)