Korean trader charged

Charges of trafficking, rape and child abuse were filed against a Korean businessman accused of molesting a 17-year-old girl and a woman in Hilutungan Island, Cordova town in Cebu recently.

The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) filed the charges before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office.

Since one of the victims is a minor, the violation falls under “qualified trafficking,” a non-bailable offense.

The special law’s confidentiality provisions prohibits the identification of both the victims and the accused in the media.

Also named respondent in the complaint is the woman who allegedly enticed the victims to join a party organized by the Korean last Oct. 26.

The sister of the 17-year-old victim said the female respondent vowed to grant them P1,500 each if they will join the party at the Korean’s home. The siblings were transported by boat from a beach resort in Lapu-Lapu to Hilutungan Island.

Upon their arrival, they were welcomed by an aide of the Korean national. At 9 pm, the victims were left by the female respondent. The minor got drunk and asked the respondent to bring her back home.

The respondent allegedly told her that she can only go home if she sleeps with the Korean national whose boat was the only mode of transportation from Hilutungan Island to mainland Cebu.

The victim said the Korean molested her and she and her sister were allowed to go home the following day. Her 21-year-old sister said the Korean, who owns a restaurant, also molested her sometime last October.

Her friend, who didn’t lodged a complaint against the respondent, also had sex with the Korean national.

They were given P2,000 by the businessman.

Charlie Shin, vice president of the Cebu Korean Association, declined to comment on the issue.

“That’s a sensitive matter,” Shin said in a text message sent to Cebu Daily News.