RP immigration bans strip-searches to find Yakuza tattoos

Thursday, July 5, 2007 05:15 PM
MANILA (AFP) - Philippine immigration officers have been ordered to stop forcing some Japanese visitors to disrobe as they try to flush out suspected members of Yakuza crime syndicates through their distinctive tattoos, the immigration chief said Thursday.

Marcelino Libanan ordered the new "no-touch" policy following complaints that many Japanese visitors sporting tattoos were being harassed by immigration personnel at the airport, a statement from the immigration department said.

Some immigration personnel even used the practice to extort money, the statement added.

In the past, Japanese airline passengers suspected of being Yakuza members were asked to come to the immigration office and to remove part of their clothing to see if they bore the trademark tattoos that are a sign of gang membership.

Those found with the tattoos were usually denied entry.

Libanan said the relaxing of this policy did not mean Yakuza could now enter the country as immigration officers can still exercise their "inherent discretion" in deciding whether to allow a foreigner to enter.

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