A court in the Philippines has sentenced Alice Guo, a Chinese citizen who rose to political office by posing as a Filipina, to life imprisonment after finding her guilty of human trafficking.
Seven others linked to the same case were also handed life sentences, according to state prosecutors.
Guo, who once served as mayor of a town north of Manila, was found to have supervised a large, Chinese-run online gambling compound where hundreds of workers were forced to carry out fraudulent activities. Those who refused were allegedly threatened with torture.
The operation came to light in March 2024 when a Vietnamese worker managed to escape and alert the authorities.
When police raided the site, they discovered a massive complex filled with office buildings, luxury residences, and a large swimming pool.
Inside, more than 700 people from countries including the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Rwanda were rescued.
Police officers also recovered documents suggesting that Alice Guo was the president of the company that owned the facility.
State prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas confirmed outside a Manila regional court that all eight accused received life sentences.
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She noted that Guo and three others were convicted of organising the trafficking scheme, while four additional defendants were found guilty of participating in acts of trafficking.
Torrevillas declined to release their names due to a confidentiality law.
Alice Guo, now 35, had fled the Philippines in 2024 but was later arrested in Indonesia.
Earlier this year, a Manila court ruled that she was never qualified to serve as mayor of Bamban, the town where the scam centre operated, because she was a Chinese citizen pretending to be a Filipina.
The Chinese embassy has not responded to requests for comment.
However, public outrage over Guo’s case and the rising number of trafficking incidents pushed President Ferdinand Marcos to order a complete ban on offshore gambling operations in 2024. He also instructed foreign nationals working in these centres to leave the country.
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