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Philippines denies ex-mayor Alice Guo has received special treatment in prison

Officials refuted reports that Guo, who recently began serving a life sentence, possessed a phone and had received unauthorised visitors

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Alice Guo, the former mayor of Bamban in Tarlac province accused of human trafficking and ties to Chinese organised crime, is escorted to a press conference in Manila on September 6, 2024. A Philippine court later sentenced her and seven others to life in prison on human-trafficking charges. Photo: AFP
SCMP’s Asia desk
Philippine prison authorities have denied that convicted former mayor Alice Guo was receiving special treatment at the Correctional Institution for Women after reports claimed she had been given access to a mobile phone and allowed to receive unauthorised visitors.
The allegations emerged days after Guo – sentenced to life imprisonment for human trafficking linked to illegal online gaming and scam operations – was transferred to the country’s main women’s prison.

“Guo, along with all inmates, is subject to the same regulations and restrictions, with no special privileges afforded to her or any other persons deprived of liberty,” the Bureau of Corrections said on Thursday, as quoted by the Manila Bulletin.

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The “circulating rumours” were baseless, the bureau’s director general, Gregorio Pio Catapang Jnr, told The Manila Times.

02:35

Ex-Philippine mayor Alice Guo gets life term for human trafficking linked to scam hub

Ex-Philippine mayor Alice Guo gets life term for human trafficking linked to scam hub

He said Guo was still in mandatory quarantine following her transfer from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology on Friday night.

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