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Criminal Plastic Surgery Clinics Exposed in the Philippines
"They Don't Even Ask Customers for ID"

Unauthorized secret clinics that perform plastic surgery to help criminals evade investigations have been uncovered in the Philippines.

According to the British BBC and others on the 10th (local time), the Philippine police seized hair transplant equipment, dental implants, and skin whitening IV drips at a hospital in Pasay City near Manila last May. They also arrested two Vietnamese doctors, one Chinese doctor, one Chinese pharmacist, and one Vietnamese nurse, all of whom were confirmed to have no medical practice licenses in the Philippines.

Investigators believe that this clinic provided procedures such as plastic surgery to employees of Chinese-operated online gambling dens illegally operating in the Philippines.

[Image source=Pixabay]

Winston John Casio, spokesperson for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) of the Philippines, stated, "This clinic does not ask customers to show identification," and that through plastic surgery, it is possible to "create a completely new person."

Casio also revealed that in December 2022, Philippine immigration authorities arrested a Chinese gang member who had undergone plastic surgery to conceal his identity, and this case may also be linked to such secret clinics. Authorities indicated that two illegal clinics, including this one, might be shut down within weeks.

Earlier, on the 6th, the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) searched an unauthorized clinic in Makati City near Manila. During the operation, at least eight individuals presumed to be Chinese jumped from the second floor of the clinic building to escape. This clinic was found to be owned by a Chinese-operated online gambling den and was operating as a pharmacy rather than a hospital.

Meanwhile, Chinese-operated online gambling dens known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) have surged in the Philippines since around 2016, targeting customers from mainland China where gambling is prohibited. These establishments have been controversial due to numerous crimes such as phone and online scams, illegal immigration facilitation, and human trafficking.

At their peak before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were as many as 300 such establishments. However, many moved to other countries or went underground due to the pandemic and increased taxation, reducing the number of legally operating sites to 46. Nevertheless, Alejandro Tengco, chairman of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the Philippine gambling regulatory authority, stated that there are currently about 250 to 300 secret online gambling dens operating without licenses in the Philippines.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.