S. Korean man accused of killing wife escapes from detention center in Philippines

National 13:48 May 23, 2023

DAEJEON, May 23 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean man has escaped from a detention center in the Philippines while waiting for repatriation home to face charges of killing his wife and abandoning her body in a reservoir in January, police said Tuesday.

The 38-year-old man climbed through a window to the roof of the immigration detention center at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and fled at around 2 a.m. Sunday, according to police in the west coast city of Seosan, about 100 km south of Seoul.

They added that the Philippine police are chasing him.

The man fled to the Philippines after killing his wife on Jan. 23 and abandoning her body in a reservoir in the county of Taean, near Seosan. He was apprehended in the Southeast Asian nation in February after South Korea asked Philippine authorities for cooperation in arresting him.

"We were waiting for his repatriation as a deportation decision by Philippine authorities had been delayed," a police official said. "We're embarrassed that the situation turned out like this."