Chinese National Arrested Near Philippine Election Commission With Alleged Spy Device

The Philippines is just more than a week out from its May 12 midterm elections amid warnings of election interference by communist China.

Seized equipment placed on display as Chinese nationals (background 3rd R and R) and their alleged Filipino accomplices (2nd L to 4th L) are presented behind (seated L-R) Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Office chief Colonel Xerxes Trinidad, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) chief Jaime Santiago, NBI deputy chief for operations Antonio Pagatpat, and cybercrime unit chief Jeremy Lotoc during a press conference at the NBI office in Manila on Feb. 25, 2025. Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Images

A Chinese national has been arrested by the Philippine equivalent of the FBI on suspicion of spying after allegedly being found with an electronic eavesdropping device in the trunk of his car.

The man, identified as 47-year-old Lao Tak-Hoi, was allegedly in a gray Mitsubishi Adventure parked outside the Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec) headquarters in Intramuros, Manila, when he was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on April 29.