OFW arrested in Taiwan after allegedly killing girlfriend

Marvin Joseph Ang·ContributorMon, 15 August 2022, 3:25 pm

An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) was arrested in Taiwan on Sunday (August 14) after allegedly killing his girlfriend after she rejected his marriage proposal repeatedly, a report from the Central News Agency said.

According to a preliminary investigation by Hsinchu County Police Bureau, the man was identified as Dioni, who previously dated the victim in the Philippines and then broke up before they went separately to Taiwan for work.

They rekindled their relationship after meeting by chance in Taiwan, and since then, he repeatedly asked her hand for marriage but the victim had repeatedly rejected Dioni, according to the police bureau.

On the night the crime happened, they booked a hotel in Zhubei, where Dioni proposed marriage again. When the woman rejected his proposal again, they broke out into a fight and he strangled her to death, the police report said.

He dialed 119 for emergency services, but when the paramedics arrived at 6 a.m. the next day, they found out that the woman had been lifeless for hours. They notified the police and brought Dioni to custody for questioning and immediately started the investigation.

Hsinchu County Police Bureau has already transferred Dioni to the Prosecutor’s Office, where he will be investigated for homicide.

Earlier this year, Taiwan opened its doors to more than 40,000 OFWs after it shut its borders due to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Senator Raffy Tulfo called on the government to craft contingency plans for OFWs amid the rising tension between Beijing and Taipei after US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the region.

Tulfo, who is about to head the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, noted that there are at least 200,000 OFWs working in Taiwan, and said that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to come up with a “coordinated plan to ensure the safety of Filipino workers in Taiwan and other neighboring countries.”

“The tension between China and Taiwan is not something to be taken lightly. This is the perfect time for government agencies to show their united force by working together for the safety and security of our workers abroad,” Tulfo said.

“In my experience of helping OFWs in the past two decades, the government agencies, oftentimes, were very reactive instead of proactive,” he added.