PH frees 64 Chinese steel plant workers from detention

BEIJING -- Sixty-four Chinese citizens detained in the Philippines have been released after the Department of Justice (DOJ) ruled there was insufficient evidence for the allegations they faced, China's embassy in the Philippines said.

The allegations against them include violations of the nuclear safety law, and immigration and labour laws.

The Chinese citizens, who worked at a steel plant in the Misamis Oriental province, were detained on May 15.

Two weeks ago, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro called for a full probe into an operation in that province that was said to involve undocumented foreign nationals and Filipino workers handling potentially hazardous materials.

Six more Chinese were undergoing the process to get their release, added the Chinese embassy on Friday, which said it had also lodged repeated stern representations.

-Reporting by Liz Lee in Beijing; Additional reporting by Mikhail Flores in Manila; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Stephen Coates/Reuters