Alice Guo, a Chinese national, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Philippine court for her role in a human trafficking operation. Guo, who masqueraded as a Filipina to become the mayor of Bamban town, oversaw a Chinese-operated online gambling center where over 700 individuals were forced to participate in scams. The operation was exposed after a Vietnamese worker escaped and alerted authorities. Following a raid in March 2024, Guo and seven others were found guilty of trafficking charges. The case underscores the rise of transnational scams in Southeast Asia, with significant financial losses reported. The Philippine government has since banned offshore gambling operations in response to public outrage over the case.