Scot to be deported after eight months locked up by Bureau of Immigration

Scot
Frank Bohlert shared a tiny cell with 11 other detainees at the notorious Bicutan Detention Centre. He was not charged with any crime, and is now to be deported.

A Scottish man held at the Bureau of Immigration’s Bicutan Taguig jail since last September is due to fly home — without a penny to his name.

Frank Bohlert, a former oil industry worker from Aberdeen, was a resident of the Philippines since falling for a local woman in 2012. The couple ran the Twilights Rock Bistro bar in Taytay together until he was detained.

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Mr Bohlert was locked up on September 14 when his visa expired and his ex-girlfriend made allegations of cruelty against him under RA 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.

As we reported last October, the 61-year-old resisted earlier attempts to deport him in a bid to clear his name. 

Mr Bohler also wanted to remain in the Philippines to seek justice after his laptop, car and money were allegedly stolen from his home in in Tanay, Rizal, after he was jailed.

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However, he is now being deported without having been formally charged with any crime, and also without any success in his bid for justice.

He says the past few months living in the cramped and squalid detention centre in Manila has been hell — for much of the time he shared a tiny cell with 11 other detainees.

A friend of Frank’s, Gordon Esslemont, told Planet Radio that he would give him somewhere to sleep when he returns, but that he would have to register as homeless.

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The Bicutan detention centre is notorious for locking up foreigners for long periods, often without charge. We have previously reported on the case of Dave Bauer, who was locked up for six months before being deported. He was never formally charged with any crime.

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