Indonesian police raid house to arrest fugitive Philippine mayor 'working as spy for China'

Indonesian police raided a monk's house to arrest a fugitive Philippine mayor accused of working as a spy for China.

Footage shows International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) officers barging into the home to catch disgraced politician Alice Guo in Tangerang City along the western border of Jakarta on September 4.

Inspector General Krisha Murti, head of the Indonesian National Police's International Relations Division, said a female monk and five other 'supporters' including five Chinese individuals had offered Guo shelter.

He said: 'Some supporters...know nothing about Alice Guo, said they only support her, like renting a car, paying the hotel... They transfer money from another country.'

Guo had allegedly given them money to pay for car rentals, food, SIM card, and hotel bills. She was said to have entered Indonesia 'legally' without any red notice.

However, Indonesian police received information from their Philippine counterparts and arrested Guo.

The small-town mayor has been repatriated to the Philippines and will attend today a Senate hearing on her alleged links to Chinese organised crime syndicates.

Furious senators now intend to interrogate her about other 'big fish' involved in the scheme.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is among the authorities leading the investigation into Guo, said: 'It is time for her to answer the unanswered questions. It is time for her to face her lies.'

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said: 'I believe Guo Hua Ping has all the information. She knows this business and there are records and testimonies showing that she is an active participant in the Pogo hub. And that is what we want to know from her.'

Guo, also known as the Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, is the subject of multiple money laundering charges filed by Philippine law enforcement agencies.

Her controversial case stemmed from a raid that uncovered a sprawling Chinese online casino built on land she partly owned in Bamban town.

She was being grilled by Philippine senators for allegedly protecting criminal syndicates in the casinos locally known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO).

POGOs cater to Chinese gambling clients in the Chinese mainland, but are notorious for being fronts for criminal activity, including fraud and human trafficking. They mushroomed in the Philippines after former President Rodrigo Duterte cultivated close ties with China during his term.

Guo was last seen in public on May 22. She was dismissed by an anti-graft body and soon went into hiding, refusing to appear before the Senate because 'she was traumatised'.

The mayor sparked fury among locals as she later revealed to have slipped past border checks, travelling through Malaysia, Singapore, and finally Indonesia, where she was caught.

Indonesian police were on high alert following the arrest of Guo's foster sister Shiela and their family friend Cassandra Ong, who both accompanied her while fleeing, in Batam on August 20.

Guo, a newcomer in politics, had insisted on her Filipino heritage in interviews with local media. However, fingerprint matches allegedly found that she was Chinese citizen Guo Hua Ping, sparking outrage and calls for her ouster.

The controversy comes amid the Philippines' territorial conflicts with China over parts of the South China Sea.

Expansionist China currently lays claim over almost the entire South China Sea, one of the world's busiest sea lanes. But a United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016 deemed its claims groundless.

The Communist rogue state - accused of genocide for its crimes against the Uyghur population - has been steadily increasing its influence in recent years through investment in developing countries.