2 Chinese in unlicensed Clark COVID-19 hospital walk free
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO–Police have yet to file charges against two Chinese nationals accused of running a clandestine hospital at a posh residential village at the Clark Freeport north of this Pampanga capital and have been set free.
The hospital, which was raided by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) on May 19, was supposedly put up to exclusively treat Chinese workers afflicted with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which originated from China.
But formal complaints have been delayed pending the issuance of a certification from the FDA that will establish that medicines recovered from the raided Fontana Villa No. 628 and a warehouse were “untested by FDA and hence illegal,” Col. Amante Daro, CIDG chief in Central Luzon, said on Monday (May 25).
The Chinese nationals, Hu Ling, who was described by CIDG as the supervisor, and Lee Seung Hyun, the supposed pharmacist of the facility, were “released on the same day of their arrest, with no charges or cases filed against them,” said Simon Wu, Fontana assistant general manager.
Wu has written CDC, which manages the 4,400-hectare free port, to inform it about the release of the Chinese nationals without charges.
The villa is under the exclusive control of Shidaikeji Technology Corp. (STC), a “support service company to (a) POGO [Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator],” said Noel Manankil, CDC president and chief executive officer.
No involvement
According to STC, Fontana has “absolutely no involvement or participation in our business or villa operations.”
“Because of the crisis, we have been forced to use our villa to respond to our employee’s own needs. However, we are not operating a COVID-19 clinic in the villa,” STC said in a letter to Fontana.
The raiding team found seven beds, several trash bins full of syringes, medicines and medical supplies during the raid.
The Chinese and South Korean communities inside Clark have not released information about their COVID-19 situation until after the May 19 raid, which has prompted questions on whether the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Republic Act No. 11469) also applies to foreigners.
Edited by TSB
For more news about the novel coronavirus click here.
What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link.
