The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) has clarified that a suspect arrested in connection with the so-called “chop-chop drum murder case” in Binondo is not a Taiwanese national but a Chinese citizen who presented a forged Taiwanese passport.

In an official statement, TECO said it initiated verification procedures after some media reports identified the arrested individual as Taiwanese following an operation by the Pasay City Police Station.

“After carefully examining the passport presented by the suspect, this Office confirms that the document is a forged Taiwanese passport,” TECO said.

A TECO officer personally visited the suspect to conduct consular verification. During the interview, the suspect was unable to provide a valid Taiwan national identification number and admitted that he is a Chinese national.

The suspect also reportedly confessed to purchasing the fraudulent Taiwanese passport through the Telegram application.

The office added that the Government of Taiwan respects the judicial process of the Republic of the Philippines and will continue to cooperate with local authorities in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, particularly in matters involving document fraud and transnational crime.