MANILA, March 5 -- The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has initiated a manhunt against a South Korean who escaped while attending a hearing of a case against him in Quezon City.

In a statement Wednesday, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the suspect Na Ikhyeon, 38, was able to flee despite the presence of his counsel while in a hearing of an estafa case at the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday.

Initial investigation showed Na escaped through the court's restroom.

"We are investigating if his counsel has knowledge of this seemingly pre-planned incident. We have also assigned a special tracker team to locate him and again take custody," he said in a statement.

The BI noted that South Korean authorities said Na misled his compa...