A British man working as a scuba-diving instructor in the central Philippines has been arrested by immigration authorities, who say that he is an “undesirable alien” registered in the UK as a sex offender.
Officers from the Philippines Bureau of Immigration (BI) fugitive search unit carried out an enforcement operation in Santa Fe on Tablas island, Romblon province on 16 February, based on an order issued earlier in the month.
At the time of his arrest, former teacher Andrew Charles Beaumont, 47, was “allegedly providing diving lessons and demonstrating scuba equipment for a fee,” stated the BI. “He is reportedly known in the area for managing a local diving business.”
The moment of arrest was photographed by BI at what appeared to be the Tablas Pro Scuba dive-centre in Santa Fe.
Beaumont was said to have been subject to a life-long sexual offence notification order in the UK since 2012. He had previously been convicted in Australia in 2009 on multiple charges involving repeated sexual activity with a 15-year-old over a six-week period.
According to court records he had been sentenced to four years and six months of imprisonment with a three-year non-parole period.
Undesirable alien
Immigration records indicated that Beaumont had entered the Philippines on 19 September, 2022 as a temporary visitor and that his last authorised visa extension had expired in November, 2023.
The BI said that he would remain in its custody while facing deportation proceedings filed against him as an “undesirable alien”.
“It is absolutely unacceptable for foreign sex offenders to come to our country,” commented BI commissioner Joel Anthony Viado. “We express our outrage against anyone – especially foreigners – who seek to victimise minors and violate their innocence. The Bureau of Immigration will relentlessly pursue and deport individuals who pose a threat to our children.”
Viado said that the arrest formed part of an intensified BI campaign to protect minors under its ShieldKids initiative, which strengthens border control, intelligence-sharing and enforcement actions against overseas sex offenders and traffickers.
Also on Divernet: FBI arrests fugitive scuba instructor on sex charges, Elderly scuba instructor sexually assaulted teenage trainees, Dive-shop owner given 27 years for sex-abuse
