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Ten Chinese nationals have accused Lucky South 99 representative Cassandra Li Ong and 53 others of trafficking and forcing them to work at the illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) in Porac, Pampanga, where they were rescued during a raid in June.
In a complaint filed at the Department of Justice on Tuesday, the foreigners claimed they were kidnapped, held against their will and coerced into becoming workers of Lucky South 99, one of two Pogo hubs in Central Luzon at the center of a deepening criminal investigation.
Aside from the Chinese nationals, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Philippine National Police were listed as complainants in the document charging Ong and company with qualified human trafficking, a nonbailable offense.
“One of the Chinese nationals was lent P450,000 and gambled for three nights playing mahjong. When he couldn’t repay the debt, he was taken directly to Lucky South,” Prosecutor Ramoncito Ocampo said at a press briefing.
In a separate interview, Prosecutor James Escalona said the trafficking scheme involved victims being brought to the Pogo to pay off casino debts.
They were promised freedom once the debt was fully settled. “[But] when they’re close to … paying off their remaining balance, [the Pogos] sell them to another Pogo. So, the victims just keep getting transferred from one place to another,” Escalona said.
