The Japanese fugitives before their scheduled deportation via Japan Airlines. Photo courtesy of the Department of Justice
2 Japanese fugitives ‘off’ to Japan
THE Philippine government yesterday deported two Japanese fugitives who were wanted by their home country over accusations linking them to a series of robberies and telecommunications fraud.
In a news briefing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla identified the Japanese deportees as Imamura Kiyoto and Toshiya Fujita.
They were brought back to Japan by a contingent from the Japanese police, Remulla said.
The two were among the four Japanese whom their government has asked the Philippines to deport.
Remulla said two more Japanese fugitives, Tomonobu Saito and Yuki Watanabe, wanted in their home country for alleged robberies will be deported today. Watanabe a.k.a “Luffy” was Kiyoto’s alleged leader.
This as the Pasay City Regional Trial Court upheld the motion to dismiss the local cases of the Japanese as sought by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Reports said Saito and Watanabe were charged with Violence against Women and Children (VAWC) law, which Remulla theorized as contrived cases.
Watanabe was believed to have remotely given instructions to those carrying out the robberies in Japan via an encrypted messaging app from an immigration facility in Manila.
“Tomorrow ang flight. Morning or evening. We’re not sure yet but they will be deported tomorrow for sure and they’ll be back in Japan in a short amount of time,” Remulla said.
