A former Filipino police officer convicted of masterminding the murder of a South Korean businessman has been arrested after nearly two years on the run, authorities said on Wednesday.
Rafael Dumlao was found asleep, with a handgun nearby, at a northern Manila property in the early hours of Tuesday, national police chief Jose Melencio Nartatez said.
Dumlao, who was a top official in an anti-narcotics unit of the national police at the time of Jee Ick Joo’s killing, was arrested in 2017 and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was acquitted by a lower court in 2023, but the ruling was overturned after an appellate court found him guilty and ruled that the lower court had committed “grave abuse of discretion” by letting the former officer off.
The former officer went into hiding after the Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court’s ruling.
Announcing Dumlao’s arrest, interior secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said investigators found a lead on the convict after watching a live stream of his daughter’s wedding last week.
“This morning's operation is a clear demonstration of the government's commitment to enforce the law and implement court decisions. The police acted in accordance with its mandate, and the arrest sent a strong message that nobody is above the law, regardless of rank, position or former authority," he said in a briefing in Quezon City.
Jee was abducted and killed inside the national police headquarters in 2016. “According to a witness, they kidnapped the Korean, attempted to extort money from him, strangled him, cremated his body and flushed the remains down the toilet,” the interior secretary said, referring to Dumlao as well as other active-duty and former police officers involved in the case.
South Korean president Lee Jae Myung welcomed Dumlao’s arrest. “Although it is long overdue, I’m relieved that we can finally deliver the news that the perpetrator has been apprehended,” he said on Tuesday.
“This arrest was made possible thanks to the close collaboration between the Korean embassy in the Philippines, the Korean Desk in the Philippines, and Filipino police authorities,” he added. “I would like to express my gratitude to all those who have worked for a long time to help resolve this case.”
