2 airport screeners probed for taking Chinese’s ₱9,000

Airport police are probing two screening officers of the Office for Transportation Security after a Chinese national complained that his peso bills worth ₱9,000

were forcibly taken from him before he boarded his flight to Iloilo last Wednesday.

Based on a complaint lodged at the NAIA Airport Police Office, passenger Qunxing Wu, 35, of Fujian Province, China, was at the final security check of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 4 when two “uniformed” male individuals ordered him to put his cellphone and wallet in a basket.

When Wu cleared the X-ray check, he was asked by the two security personnel to open his wallet which, at that time was containing more than ₱19,000.

The two OTS security detail reportedly told the Chinese national that he cannot bring to his flight to Iloilo local currency that exceeds the amount of ₱10,000.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas regulations only prohibit the bringing in or taking out of the country peso currency not exceeding ₱50,000.

In the complaint, it was alleged that the security men took the ₱9,000 without issuing any receipt to Wu.

Since Wu cannot communicate in English, he immediately called a Filipino-Chinese relative in Manila and asked the relative to report the incident to airport authorities.

Wu later boarded AirAsia flight Z2-309 bound for Iloilo which was delayed by more than an hour.

NAIA Terminal 4 Airport Security Office 2 Honey Gonzales said they have preserved a copy of the closed-circuit footages at the specific final security check area and established the identities of the suspects.

“We are just waiting for the return of the passenger to Manila to help us positively identify the suspects and file the necessary charges,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales confirmed that the two men are assigned at the final security check to conduct frisking and inspection. She, however, refused to provide the identities of the OTS personnel pending the outcome of the investigation.