Mid-air pickpocket begs for forgiveness

A resident of an exclusive village in Makati, who was a passenger in the economy class of a Philippine Airlines flight from San Francisco, admitted yesterday sneaking into the business class and filching the wallet of a sleeping passenger from Bulacan.

Quintina Timbol Castel of 5 Longoes St., Calumpit, Bulacan, the victim of theft on board PAL’s Flight 105, did not press charges against Kristine Basa, 43, of Dasmariñas Village, Makati, after Basal returned the $5,000 she had taken and asked for forgiveness on bended knees.

Maj. Esmeraldo Saplana, Customs police chief at the NAIA, said that when Castel woke up three hours before they landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, she discovered that her US dollars were missing from her black wallet.

Two passengers tipped her off that an elderly woman in a red jacket, from the economy section, sat in a vacant seat beside her while she was sleeping, and riffled her shoulder bag.

The victim kept quiet about her missing money until the plane landed and she reported the theft to Customs authorities. A physical search of Basa yielded some of the missing money, the rest was found in her hand-carried luggage.

Basa confessed and went down on her knees asking for forgiveness. Castel acceded, saying,"Kung ang Diyos ay nagpapatawad, tao pa." – Rey Arquiza