The businessman President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered arrested has no pending criminal case.
Atty. Philip Sigfrid Fortun said no case has ever been filed against Alex Wong Chu King, president of cigarette maker Mighty Corporation.
Wong Chu King, together with his lawyer Fortun, appeared before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and met with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.
Fortun said they voluntary appeared to show that they want to cooperate fully with the government.
“The company had decided to cooperate fully in accordance to what Secretary [Vitaliano] Aguirre had conveyed to us,” Fortun told reporters after the meeting with Aguirre.
“The President wanted to find out what happened to the excise tax stamps allegedly faked,” he said.
Fortun denied the reported attempt to bribe the President.
Duterte ordered Wong Chu King’s arrest after he allegedly sent a box full of cash to the Palace.
“That is totally new [report on bribe try]. That was not take up during the meeting [with Aguirre],” Fortun said.
This is the second time that Duterte has ordered the arrest of a businessman.
Earlier, Duterte ordered the arrest of online gaming tycoon Jack Lam for economic sabotage. No case, however, was filed against him.
Duterte eventually said he no longer wants Lam arrested as long as he will return to the Philippines to settle his obligations. RAM
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