Activists condemn lax probe of sex tourism suspects

By Kim Se-jeong

Korean men accused of going on a sex tour keep their faces covered after their arrest in the National Bureau of Investigation in Cebu City, March 4. /Courtesy of Cebu Daily News

Local NGOs condemned police in South Chungcheong Province on Friday after the police dropped allegations against seven men arrested in the Philippines for buying sex.

“We are deeply concerned with the police’s decision not to indict them,” according to a statement released by a group of NGOs, including Tacteen, a group promoting children’s rights.

The men were caught on the tourist island of Cebu in March for violating the anti-trafficking law prohibiting involvement in the sex trade. The men were bailed out, returned home and continued being investigated by the local police.

Dropping the allegations earlier this week, the local police cited a lack of evidence as the main reason for letting them go. The agency also said reports provided by the police in the Philippines were insufficient to prove the allegations against the men.

“Given that the local victims and fixers were all detained in the Philippines, it’s absurd that the police claim a lack of evidence. We question how the police are conducting other cases occurring overseas.

“This decision would give future suspects a reason to deny allegations and then come away clean. It demonstrates a lack of awareness about paying for sex abroad and the prevalence of tolerance by the police for such activity. We demand thorough investigations of these men to bring them to justice.”

The group also demanded explanations from the police about the extent of collaboration between the Philippine and the Korean police.

The story was filed by the Cebu Daily News. According to the media outlet, nine men were initially caught sleeping with young women aged between 19 and 21 at a beachfront hotel on March 3. All were in their 40s and 50s, and two were released in the Philippines.

“The suspects are part of what we call sex tourism which preys on Cebuanas. We received information about their activities so we hatched a plan to arrest them,” the local investigator Arnet Pura told the news outlet.

The paper also quoted Cebu’s Vice Governor Agnes Magpale who helped arrest them. “I am happy that this kind of activity got busted. Like illegal drugs, we might not be able to eradicate it (sex tourism) but at least we are doing something to slow it down.”

Paying for sex is punishable by up to 15 years in prison in Korea.

The news outlet posted video footage in the local police station featuring the men’s faces on social media that went viral in Korea. Neither the police nor the vice governor in the Philippines could be reached for comment.

Korean men are notorious for being avid sex tourists in the Philippines.