Japanese, Pinoy partner arrested for illegal recruitment

Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) have arrested a Japanese national and his Filipino employee for allegedly duping 10 aspiring overseas workers into each paying P30,000 for nonexistent jobs in Japan.

CIDG director Chief Supt. Roel Obusan said that Shoichi Nakai, the alleged manager of Ohayo Japanese Language Learning Center; and his employee, Mary Jane Tan, were arrested after the victims said they were promised jobs as farmers, factory workers and hotel staffers in Japan.

According to Obusan, the suspects were arrested on Monday in an entrapment operation at their rented office on Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City.

Obusan said the complainants first sought the help of the CIDG’s antitransnational crime unit on June 10 by reporting the pair’s recruitment activities.

They claimed they were each asked to pay P30,000 for training and the processing of their job requirements by Tan.

She also supposedly promised that they would be deployed immediately to Japan after completing their training.

Nakai, on the other hand, gave them an orientation about their jobs.

A check with the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority, however, showed that Ohayu was not an accredited recruitment agency. —Jeannette I. Andrade