MANILA — Immigration officers at the Clark International Airport (CIA) in Angeles City, Pampanga barred a 29-year-old Norwegian pedophile convicted for a string of sex offenses in his country, from entering the Philippines.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente said Kim Vegar Kristoffersen was intercepted Monday upon his arrival via Emirates flight EK338 which arrived from Dubai.
“He was immediately excluded and booked on the first available flight to his port of origin,” Morente said in a statement. “Afterwards, he was placed in our blacklist to ensure that he is denied entry again if he attempts to return to the country.”
BI spokesperson Ma. Antonette Mangrobang said Kristoffersen flew all the way from Oslo, Norway to visit his 16-year-old Filipino boyfriend who lives in Concepcion, Tarlac.
She added that authorities were alerted about the Norwegian’s scheduled trip to the country by Nordic investigators, who were able to trace communications and money transactions between the two lovers.
“We have been very strict and vigilant in turning away these sex offenders because they pose a serious and real threat to Filipino children whom they might abuse if they managed to enter our country,” Mangrobang explained.
The BI official said Kristoffersen was convicted four times in Norway for the crime of sexually molesting children under 16 years of age, citing a report from the International Justice Mission, a global NGO engaged in fighting women and child trafficking.
Meanwhile, Morente reported that the foreigner is the latest to be arrested or intercepted in their unrelenting campaign to thwart the entry of undesirable aliens, including sex offenders, into the Philippines.
Last year, BI personnel intercepted a total of 187 so-called registered sex offenders (RSOs) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other ports nationwide. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
