3 charged for ‘robbing’ newly opened SRP mall

CEBU, Philippines - Three men were charged before the court for allegedly stealing equipment owned by the newly opened mall at the South Road Properties in Cebu City.

Prosecutor III Noel Cellona found sufficient ground to hold Rey Anghang, 21, for trial for allegedly stealing 10 kilos of aluminum wires worth P50,000 from the mall last December 14, 2015.

Security guard Jovanie Gutib, who was on duty at the time of the incident, said at around 3 a.m. on the said date, he saw a person “stealing” the wires, which causing him to arrest the latter.

 Anghang, a resident of Sitio Lawis, Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City, chose not to undergo preliminary investigation to answer the allegations filed against him. Instead, he manifested to answer the charges before the court.

Cellona recommended P24,000 bail for Anghang’s temporary liberty.

 In a separate case, Jonas Gumera and a 16-year-old boy, also residents of Barangay Mambaling, are also facing similar charges.

Gutib alleged that while he was on duty still on December 14, 2015, he saw two men allegedly stealing a jack hammer worth P200,000 and pipe threader worth P10,000 from a newly opened mall.

The suspects were arrested by Gutib and were later identified as Gumera and the minor.

Meanwhile, unidentified perpetrators broke into a house in Barangay Cogon, Compostela town and took more than P100,000 worth of cash and jewelries. The burglary was discovered past 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Amebel Mollena, member of non-uniformed personnel in Compostela Police Station, said the house is reportedly owned by the parents of the victims Dean Mark Balo, 35, and Jennifer Borres, 26, who is working abroad.

Initial investigation revealed that Dean Mark, his wife, and Jennifer, left their house to attend a birthday party in Barangay Muabog, Tabogon town on Sunday. But when they returned home past 5 p.m. that day, the house was already in disarray.

They saw that the kitchen door was destroyed. On the kitchen table, they found a knapsack bag which contained a Canon camera, a Samsung Galaxy Note phone, a Samsung tablet, a laptop and a white Samsung. The suspects may have left the bag in their haste.

When they checked their room, however, Dean Mark and Janet found out that the door was forcibly opened and their drawers left unclosed. They said the burglars carted away their P24,500 cash. Jennifer also checked her room and discovered that she lost P1,000 cash.

Inspector Romeo Caacoy, chief of Compostela Police Station, responded to the alarm and called the operatives of the Crime Scene Investigation Unit of the Cebu Police Provincial Office to assess the scene.The CSI team arrived past 6 p.m. on the same day and lifted latent prints and took photographs at the crime scene. (FREEMAN)