A Singaporean has been arrested in the Philippines for allegedly swindling 80 Filipinos looking to work overseas. Police said he charged fake employment fees for positions in hotels and restaurants.
Arvindt Arasu, 27, who is originally from India, was detained at a rented apartment at Antipolo City in Rizal on March 16, Lianhe Zaobao (Singapore) reported, after he had collected P125,000 (US$2,400) from each of the targeted men and women.
Although he is not licensed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency to recruit workers for employment abroad, Arasu promised to provide them with jobs in Singapore, according to Roque Merdegia Jr, the chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group’s Anti-Transnational Crime Unit.
It is estimated Arasu obtained a total of P10,000,000 (US$192,043) from victims in Rizal, Mountain Province and Metro Manila. At the time of the arrest he was demanding money from seven people for more speedy processing of their overseas work applications.
Merdegia said Arasu would be charged with large-scale illegal recruitment and large-scale estafa (fraud).