Vietnamese kidnapper behind bars

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported Monday afternoon that a male Vietnamese national wanted by local authorities for the kidnapping and rape of a Chinese woman two years ago was apprehended by BI officers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado identified the passenger as Nguyen Hu Mai, who was recently intercepted at NAIA Terminal 3 while attempting to depart the country via a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).

According to Viado, Nguyen’s name triggered a positive hit in the BI’s centralized derogatory database and he was immediately referred to on-duty supervisors for secondary examination.

“Our supervisors were able to confirm that the person listed on our watchlist and the passenger are the same person. As a result, our airport personnel stopped him and took him into custody,” the BI head said.

After being arrested, Nguyen was immediately turned over to the BI Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BI-BCIU), and he was subsequently transferred to the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa.

According to BI-BCIU chief Ferdinand Tendenilla, Nguyen had been on the BI wanted list since 10 March 2025, after he and two other Chinese nationals were accused of being undesirable aliens and charged with deportation because they were primary suspects in the kidnapping and rape case.

According to police investigators, the three foreigners planned to abduct a Chinese woman from her condominium unit in Makati City on 2 March 2023 and then take her to a remote area where they repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

They also reportedly demanded ransom money amounting to P4 million from the victim’s relatives in exchange for her release.