Drum murder case 'mastermind' is Chinese, Taiwan office in PH says

The alleged mastermind in the killing of a Chinese citizen whose body was chopped and mixed into a drum with kimchi sauce in Pasay City is not Taiwanese, the Taipei office in Manila said Friday.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines said the 32-year-old man, known as Alias Davao, is a Chinese citizen who used a counterfeit Taiwanese passport. He was arrested Wednesday at a hotel casino in Parañaque City.

"Upon learning that the arrested individual was described in certain reports as a Taiwanese national, TECO immediately initiated verification procedures. After carefully examining the passport presented by the suspect, this Office confirms that the document is a forged Taiwanese passport," the office said in a statement.

TECO is Taiwan's de facto embassy in the Philippines. Manila and Taipei do not have formal diplomatic relations in deference to the One China Policy, which does not recognize Taiwan following its separation from the Chinese mainland as a state in 1949.

The man was arrested four days after the chopped remains of the victims were discovered in Binondo, Manila. 

The TECO said one of its officers visited the suspect to conduct consular verification and during an interview he was "unable to provide a valid Taiwan national identification number and admitted that he is a Chinese national." 

The suspect also confessed that he purchased the fraudulent Taiwanese passport through the Telegram online application, TECO said.

"The government of Taiwan respects the judicial process of the Republic of the Philippines and will continue to cooperate with Philippine authorities in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, particularly in matters involving document fraud and transnational crime," it said.

"We appreciate the professionalism and cooperation extended by Philippine law enforcement authorities in facilitating the verification process." — VDV, GMA Integrated News