Filipinos nabbed for cheating Japanese tourist

Vietnamese police yesterday arrested three Filipino men in their 40s and 50s for running a card shark gang that cheats money off gullible foreign tourists visiting Ho Chi Minh City.

The arrested are Oliver Due, (52 years old), Cavite Nesto Camesis (44) and Tagapan Bartolome Gerbasa (46).

According to an initial investigation, Due is the leader of a gang with around 10 members. They entered Vietnam on tourist visas and stayed at hotels in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

The members would wander around Pham Ngu Lao Street or other backpacker’s quarters and approach Asian tourists.

On October 26, at the September 23rd Park in District 1, Mr. Naoki, a Japanese tourist, was befriended by Camesis and Gerbasa. They later invited him to their house at 64/16 Cu Lao Street in Phu Nhuan district.

There, Camesis introduced him to his “brother” Due, who was “a poker dealer for a large casino”. They then taught Naoki how to win a card game by looking at secret signs from Due, who was dealing the cards.

For example, if Due touched his forehead, the number of the card of the opponent would be 10, if he touched his chin, the card would be a 9.

While the card shark instruction was going on, a Singaporean woman arrived and asked for a poker game. Due told her he would deal the cards while his new friend – the Japanese tourist – would play.

Due then whispered to Naoki to apply the lessons he had just learned in practice and lent him US$200.

After four games, the ‘lucky’ Japanese man won $800 by simply looking at the secret signals from Due.

In the fifth game, after dealing the cards, Due sent the signals that Naoki would win this time. By now, the Singaporean guest was restless and demanded to raise the stakes to $5,000.

Thinking that he would also win this time, Naoki agreed and went out to withdraw $2,000 (Due had agreed to lend him another $2,000). 

But before he left, he put his iPhone down as assurance that he would return while the Singaporean woman deposited a pile of cash. All of the already-dealt cards were sealed in the presence of everyone.

Naoki caught a taxi to an ATM, withdrew VND44 million ($2,000) and called Due, who claimed that it was now very dark and the game would restart tomorrow morning.

Due asked Naoki to give him the VND44 million to be locked up in a box “for the sake of fairness”.

While the cash was changing hands, police - who had been investigating the group since the beginning of this year thanks to earlier tips - rushed in and arrested them.

At the station, they confessed that the Singaporean woman would win the game.

Police have found that the gang cheated one tourist before with the same trick and that Due hired other Filipinos, including Camesis and Gerbasa, for $100-200 per deal.

They are searching for the victim and hunting down others involved.

The arrested trio claimed they have carried out only two tricks so far.

Last week, police also arrested two other Filipinos in Ho Chi Minh City who were wanted by Hanoi authorities for cheating a different Japanese tourist out of over US$12,000 with similar card tricks.

Those two - Marcos Alberto Olitoquit and Shery Baloicanas Rosaldo - have been handed over to Hanoi police.

On April 26, Olitoquit and Rosaldo met Takanori Yamaguchiin in Hanoi and invited him to a card game at their house in Ba Dinh District.

It is not clear if the two gangs are connected.