Botched pawnshop theft witness gets death threats

CEBU, Philippines - A witness to the botched attempt to steal from a pawnshop in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City last weekend has received death threats.

Inspector Rolando Pinili chief of the Theft and Robbery Section of the Cebu City Police Office, said that Aurora Gotingco, the owner to the house which was rented by the thieves, reportedly received disturbing text messages from an unknown sender.

Pinili said that Gotingco, who at first was very cooperative, suddenly seemed to be avoiding them.

It was only yesterday that they learned from her son that Aurora received threats via text message.

The police wanted to invite Gotingco to the CCPO headquarters to take a look if Baby Turing, who was invited by the police for questioning, was the same person who rented the house from her.

“Na paranoid siya (Gotingco) kay na-a daw nag text niya (Gotingco got paranoid after receiving disturbing text messages),” Pinili said.

At first, Gotingco’s children alleged that their mother could not go with the police, because she was busy attending to their father who is in comatose. 

“Wala na kuno siya (Gotingco) naka tulog tungod sa kahadlok,” Pinili said.

The police are looking into the threats that Gotingco received.

Cebu City Intelligence Chief Romeo Santander said, once they can retrieve the threatening message from Gotingco’s cellular phone, they will transcribe the messages to be used as evidence against the perpetrators.

“Ang problema, wala paman nagpa-blotter ang biktima but mao na karon ang usa sa among gi-tutukan,” he said.

Santander said that Turing was allowed to go home late afternoon yesterday after Gotingco failed to do the verification.

Though released, Turing has agreed to return to the police station if he is needed, Santander said. 

Turing was initially identified by Gotingco through a picture the police showed her a day after the botched theft. 

He was invited by the police for questioning on Thursday at Sitio Saksak, Barangay Buanoy, Balamban, Cebu while he was washing his uniform near a well.

He told The FREEMAN had no idea that he was tagged as one of those involved in the attempt to steal from Gemmary Pawnshop. The thieves bore a tunnel from the house of Gotingco passing under a tailoring shop, which was located beside the pawnshop. 

The attempt was foiled when the alarm of the pawnshop, which is connected to the police, went off.

Nobody was there when the police came to respond.

Although he denies any involvement, Turing went with the police in order to clear his name.

He also denied knowing the other suspects in the botched theft, who were identified as Madrid Madrid Batnag and Kenneth Dayudoy Coplanga.

Turing said he was in Balamban during the incident.

He said that he was jailed for attempted robbery for over two years, which he said was a crime he did not commit.

He added that he could not do such wretched thing that would shame his family.

Another theft foiled

Again thanks to a working alarm system, another theft was foiled.

This time it happened last Tuesday dawn along Bonifacio St., Barangay Poblacion, Naga City.

Police said that suspects reportedly fled on foot when the alarm system of Palawan Bank went off while they tried to break into the establishment.

Supt. Eduardo Saavedra, officer-in-charge of the Naga City Police Station, said burglars successfully destroyed the sliding door of the bank, but when they reportedly started destroying the iron grill the alarm system sounded.

Saavedra suspected that the blinker of the alarm possibly terrified the burglars.

“Duna ma’y blinker nga mura’g sa pulis pud and ilang alarm system nakurat siguro maong nidagan,” he told The FREEMAN.

      Saavedra also noted that when his men arrived at the bank there was no security guard.

      “Walay gwardiya, kay kung naa unta, di siguro mahitabo ang robbery,” he said.

The police waited until the bank personnel, as well as the owner, arrived in the scene and conducted an inventory.

      Nothing was lost and the vault where the undisclosed sum was kept was intact.

Though the crime was foiled the police considered the same as a threat.

Saavedra said there could be possibilities that burglars will come back and improve their strategy.

“We have to determine kinsa’y bag-o namuyo and list their names and do some background checking, duna gyu’y trabahuon ang intelligence ani,” Saavedra said.— with Ria Mae Booc and Liv Campo/NLQ (FREEMAN)