Two Japanese men and a Filipino woman were arrested for human trafficking and child abuse of 13 Japanese minors in the island garden city of Samal in Davao del Norte in the Philippines.
On May 2, police arrested Hajime Kawauchi, 61, his son Yuya Kawaushi, 35, and their household helper Lorena Mapagdalita, 56 on suspicion of taking 13 Japanese individuals as students at their ‘training center’, Japan Times reported.
In a report by GMA News, the victims involved 10 males and three females, four of them are of legal age, nine of them are minors.
The victims were sent to the Philippines by their parents who believed that they enrolled their children in legitimate English and martial arts classes. The victims had no means of communication as the suspects confiscated their mobile phones.
The victims had no permit to study in the country a00nd were subjected to abuse and forced labor. Some had expired visas and had been staying in the country for over a year, Manila Bulletin reported.
The three suspects are detained and face charges for violation of Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 and for violation of the anti-child abuse and discrimination law.