The Regional Trial Court (RTC) found the 17 Chinese nationals guilty of qualified trafficking in persons, among other cybercrimes.
The Chinese nationals were arrested in a cybersex den in the district of Jaro, Iloilo City in November 2023.
In a decision released by RTC Branch 39 of Iloilo City on August 7, 2024, the Chinese nationals were meted imprisonment of from four months to eight months and fines worth P225,000 (two hundred twenty-five thousand pesos) each.
The Chinese nationals were charged for qualified trafficking in persons, obscene publication and exhibition through information and communication technology and computer system under the Cybercrime Law and Computer-Related Fraud.
In August 2024, the Chinese nationals pleaded guilty before the court as part of the plea-bargaining agreement they have applied for.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) District Jail in Pototan town, Province of Iloilo is waiting for a court order on the transfer of the Chinese nationals to the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
Aside from making sure that the Chinese nationals have served the full length of the sentence, they also have to pay the fines before they can be transferred to the BI custody.
The court has credited the 10-month jail time served by the Chinese nationals at the detention facility in Barangay Nanga, Pototan beginning November 2023.
