Relief operations under way in the Philippines
So much for their Christian charity. Two missionaries from the Philippines have been arrested after police said they misrepresented themselves to collect donations in many provinces throughout Thailand.
Police in Udonthani arrested the pair after another Filipino group, JC Society Foundation, complained the women were pretending to collect money to send to help after Typhoon Haiyan, but were in fact only aiding their own wallets.
The two suspects, Minerva Macapili Bedana and Juana Espelita Hoyos, reportedly performed music in public places and waved around bogus credentials identifying themselves as part of JC Society Foundation. Police in Udonthani found them plucking a guitar and asking for money in front of a hotel.
After arrest the suspects fessed up, saying they had been spreading the word of God on behalf of a Manila church, police said, when they decided to print out some pages from JC Foundation’s web site and stick them inside a plastic cover. Seems like this brilliant plan had been working for some time, and the recent devastation bolstered their collections to the tune of several hundred thousand baht, according to police.
Anyone who might have been conned by these false crusaders should contact the police to file charges, Khaosod reported.
Photo by Lt. Col. Caleb Hoover via WikiCommons
