A Singaporean man was arrested in the Philippines on May 9 after he was found possessing a tampered passport.
Mohamed Faisal Ahmad Kamal, 45, was nabbed at the Clark International Airport, north of the Philippine capital Manila, the Bureau of Immigration said in a statement it released on May 15.
"Ahmad Kamal was found to have detached pages in his passport in an attempt to hide previous travels to the Philippines," the bureau said.
It added that he had also been on its watch list, as he was reported to have escorted a Filipino woman out of the Philippines on April 28 to work in Singapore
The Daily Tribune newspaper said the woman was believed to have been recruited to work illegally as an "entertainer" in Singapore.
The Singaporean was arrested on the same day as a Chinese national flying to China through the main airport in Manila.
Xue Gang, 33, was nabbed as he was about to board a flight to Guangzhou.
The immigration bureau said he "was found to be on the (bureau's) derogatory list of foreigners who are wanted for involvement in cyber-fraud activities".
Both are currently being held at a detention facility in metropolitan Manila.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco was quoted by the Daily Tribune as saying the two would be deported and barred from re-entering the Philippines.
The Straits Times has contacted Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comments concerning the Singaporean's case.
The Philippine immigration bureau on Dec 8 prevented three Filipino women from boarding their flight to Singapore.
Investigations showed that the women had planned on flying to Singapore as tourists, but that they were actually being recruited for "hotel jobs" via an illicit Facebook group.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
