Filipino ex-cop in South Korean businessman’s 2016 murder caught after 2 years on the run

A dismissed high-ranking Filipino police officer convicted of orchestrating the 2016 killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo was arrested in the Philippine capital of Manila after nearly two years on the run, authorities said on Wednesday.President Lee Jae Myung welcomed the arrest, vowing to seek justice for criminals targeting South Koreans abroad and expressing gratitude to officials in both countries for their joint efforts.Rafael Dumlao, who was a top official of an anti-drug unit within the Philippine National Police at the time of the killing, was apprehended at around 5.15am on Tuesday, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The mastermind behind Jee’s murder had been in hiding since the Philippine Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling convicting him and sentencing him to at least 30 years in prison.Former senior police officer Ricky Santa Isabel (right) is fingerprinted after his arrest for the killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo at the police headquarters in Quezon City in January 2017. Photo: EPAJee was abducted and killed inside the national police headquarters in 2016. The case, which directly involved several active-duty and former police officers, shocked both countries as it exposed serious corruption within law enforcement.“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,” Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said as he announced Dumlao’s arrest.A lower court acquitted Dumlao in 2023, but an appellate court overturned the ruling a year later and convicted him, finding that the lower court had committed “grave abuse of discretion”, according to local media reports.He went into hiding after the Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court’s verdict, Remulla said.Police found him asleep with a handgun near him at a northern Manila property early on Tuesday, General Jose Melencio Nartatez, the national police chief, said.“Although it is long overdue, I am relieved that we can finally deliver the news that the perpetrator has been apprehended,” President Lee said in a social media post 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. I would like to express my gratitude to all those who have worked for a long time to help resolve this case.”Further ReadingHe added that protecting the lives and safety of the people was the most fundamental duty of the state, and that the government would pursue criminals targeting South Koreans to the very end and ensure they were held fully accountable.Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse