Drum murder mastermind turns out to be 'Chinese'

The mastermind behind the killing of a Chinese man in Binondo was confirmed to be a Chinese national this Friday, a day after his arrest by the National Capital Regional Police Office.

Alias “Davao,” a 32-year old man, was initially identified as a Taiwanese national by police officers that carried out his arrest along Seaside Boulevard in Paranaque City on Thursday.

Upon hearing this information, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) launched a verification into Davao’s nationality and discerned that the Taiwanese passport that he possessed was in fact fraudulent.

“After carefully examining the passport presented by the suspect, this Office confirms that the document is a forged Taiwanese passport,” said the official report from the agency.

Officials from TECO explained that Davao had confirmed that he was in fact a Chinese national as he was unable to present any valid form of identification to prove he was Taiwanese.

“He further confessed that he purchased the fraudulent Taiwanese passport through the Telegram application,” the report noted.

As the unofficial embassy of Taiwan in the Philippines, TECO sought for information on the criminal’s identity to be clarified as it continues to work with local authorities regarding transnational crimes.

“We appreciate the professionalism and cooperation extended by Philippine law enforcement authorities in facilitating the verification process,” said TECO.

On the other hand, the 32-year old has yet to be charged for his crimes as inquest proceedings on the case have not been conducted.

His alleged murder weapons, a hacksaw and a chopping knife, were also recovered following his arrest which was made possible after authorities received a tip from his live-in partner.

Both Davao and his accomplice, who was nabbed on Tuesday, are currently in the custody of officers from the Pasay Police Station.