Payne Haas’s father, Gregor Haas, could be used in prison swap with Filipina maid on death row in Indonesia
Payne Haas’s father could be used in a prisoner swap with a Filipina maid who has been languishing on death row in Indonesia for almost 15 years, following his arrest in the Philippines for alleged drug trafficking.
Police & Courts
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Payne Haas’s father could be used in a prisoner swap with a Filipina maid who has been languishing on death row in Indonesia for almost 15 years.
Gregor Haas has emerged as a potential pawn in negotiations after he was arrested by Filipino officials for alleged drug trafficking two weeks ago at the request of Indonesia which has accused him of being part of the notorious Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel.
High-profile Filipina prisoner Mary Jane Veloso, who was arrested in Indonesia for drug trafficking in 2010 but has consistently protested her innocence, has been mentioned in a possible “fugitive swap” deal between the two countries.
In an interview with The Courier-Mail, Philippines Bureau of Immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval said the proposal could be on the table.
She also revealed Haas was in a relationship with a Filipina woman, despite being still married to Uitau ‘Joan’ Taufua, who is also behind bars on remand after being charged over the deaths of three family members in a horror 2022 car crash in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Taufua – the mother of Payne, Gold Coast Titans rising star Klese Haas and seven other children – has been charged with offences including manslaughter, dangerous driving, drink-driving, unlicensed driving and evading police over the incident. She is yet to enter a plea.
The Philippines has been pushing Indonesia for clemency for Veloso, who was arrested in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6kg of heroin and was later sentenced to death.
She was spared from the firing squad in 2015 after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested in the Philippines, but remains on death row in Indonesia.
Asked about a potential prisoner swap, Ms Sandoval said it was “too early to say (but) might … be considered”.
“We have not yet received any kind of communications from the (Philippines) Department of Foreign Affairs which is of course their turf when it comes to foreign relations or co-ordination with foreign governments in certain cases,” she said.
Haas, who had been living in both Indonesia and the Philippines, has been held in an immigration detention centre in Manila following his May 15 arrest in Cebu City.
He was nabbed by officers from the Philippines Bureau of Immigration’s “fugitive search unit” after Indonesia’s National Narcotics Board issued an Interpol “Red Notice” for his arrest, accusing him of being behind the shipment of 5kg of crystal meth from Mexico last December.
Haas could face the death penalty if deported to Indonesia and found guilty, although the Philippines is a signatory to an international agreement prohibiting extradition that may lead to execution.
Ms Sandoval said there was “no finality yet” whether Haas would be sent to Indonesia or back to Australia, with a deportation hearing expected within two months.
“Normally, we would deport someone to his respective country of origin, or his nationality,” she said.
“Normally, it should be in Australia but since he is a fugitive from Indonesia, we are also taking that into consideration. The duty of the immigration (department) is to send him out of the country, but as to where, there is no finality.
“We don’t have a schedule yet of his deportation. Of course, the deportation process has to go through the motions first (and) the paperwork has to be signed by the (Bureau of Immigration) board of commissioners.
“So there is no finality yet … but definitely he will be deported because he is considered an undesirable alien already for being tagged as a fugitive.”
Ms Sandoval said Haas had been visited in detention by two siblings and his Filipina partner, who he had reportedly been living with in Cebu after arriving in the Philippines last December on a tourist visa
She said Haas had engaged a local lawyer and both the Australian and Indonesian governments had sent letters “initiating discussion on the case”.
Sydney lawyer Abdul Reslan, who is representing Joan Taufua in the manslaughter case, is also acting for Gregor while the Albanese Government has said it’s providing consular assistance.
Reslan has said that Haas intends to fight the case.
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