PAOCC: Singaporean ex-POGO boss aided Alice Guo in Indonesia

MANILA, PHILIPPINES: On Thursday (22 August), the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) of the Philippines claimed that a Singaporean national named Zhang Jie is wanted by authorities.

Earlier, Indonesian authorities, when announcing the arrest of Shiela Guo and Cassandra Li Ong—sister and business associate of the fugitive ex-mayor Alice Guo—revealed that a Singaporean had assisted the Guo group by booking their hotel accommodation in Batam.

“There was a person with alias ZJ, a Singaporean citizen, who reserved four rooms at the Harris Hotel Batam Center for the past three days. ”

“CCTV footage showed that ZJ was the individual who made the hotel reservations for them,” stated Safar Godam, Indonesia’s Director of Immigration Supervision and Enforcement.

As the Guo group was preparing to leave Batam Island, the enforcement team intercepted them and successfully apprehended Shiela Guo and Ong.

Indonesia has announced that they are still working to locate Alice Guo and her brother, whom they have described as “fugitives.”

In an interview, PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio expressed confidence that the Guo siblings remain in Batam.

Guo currently sought by Philippines authorities over alleged involvement in illegal activities.

Casio confirmed that the Singaporean mentioned by Indonesian authorities is Zhang Jie, whom he identified as the former president of Lucky South 99, an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga.

“The person who paid for their hotel is someone we also want here in the Philippines, a former president of Lucky South 99, a Singaporean named Zhang Jie,” Casio said.

He added that at least four foreign nationals were working with Guo, including Zhang and Warren Wu, a finance officer of Lucky South 99.

“Lucky South, Porac, Zun Yuan, Bamban, they’re actually one and the same. They’re run by the same group of people,” Casio said.

Lucky South 99, a previously licensed POGO, was raided in June, with several alleged crimes, including torture, reported at the site.

Casio also mentioned Lin Baoying and Zhang Ruijin, both convicted in Singapore’s S$3 billion money laundering case, are Guo’s business partners.

“This is a transnational criminal organization with connections extending all the way to Cambodia. ”

“Therefore, PAOCC, in cooperation with immigration authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and even Thailand, is working to prevent Alice Guo from reaching Cambodia and entering the Golden Triangle. ”

“Once she is in Cambodia, Laos, or Myanmar, it will be very difficult for us to apprehend her,” Casio asserted.

On 6 August, Philippine media reported that Zhang Jie, along with 11 other individuals, was placed under an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) for their alleged involvement in “potential violations of anti-trafficking laws” related to POGO incorporators and corporate officers.

The Department of Justice earlier stated that the apprehension of Cassandra Li Ong and Shiela Guo in Indonesia establishes a link between the Porac and Bamban POGOs.

According to Inquirer.Net, both Shiela and assandra Li Ong will appear at a public inquiry of the Senate on POGOs on 27 August.

The hearing will specifically delve deep into ex-mayor Guo’s escape from the Philippines despite existing arrest and look out orders.

On 13 July, the Senate issued arrest order on Alice Guo along with some family members after she failed to appear twice for hearings related to the scam centres. However, she has since gone missing.

In 2019, Guo allegedly co-founded Baofu Land Development with Zhang and Lin. Baofu Land Development reportedly built a compound in Bamban, Philippines, suspected of housing illegal scam operations.

Zhang and Lin were deported from Singapore to Cambodia after serving jail sentences, but were later expelled by Cambodian authorities.

During a May Senate hearing, Guo denied knowledge of her business partners’ criminal activities and claimed to have divested from Baofu Land Development in 2022 before running for mayor.

She stated that she had only communicated with Huang, a fugitive wanted by the Philippines’ PAOCC, and never with Zhang or Lin.