Clumsy burglar foiled

For making so much noise, a clumsy thief was caught while trying to cart away several appliances from the house of a bank employee in Quiapo, Manila yesterday.

To make matters worse, 25-year-old pedicab driver Christopher Carvajal suffered injuries to the head and body after tripping on the stairs while trying to flee.

Manila police said Carvajal entered the house of Ariel Marcelo, 37, at around 2:20 a.m. After making sure Carvajal and his family were asleep, the suspect began taking several appliances, including a karaoke machine.

However, Carvajal made so much noise in the process and woke up Marcelo.

The owner of the house got out of bed to investigate the source of the noise. He spotted the thief and shouted at him, resulting in a brief chase around the house.

As the thief reached the stairs, he tripped and fell.

SPO4 Nick Mangundayao said the suspect was rushed to the Jose Reyes Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.

Meanwhile, the National Capital Region Police Office announced that valuable information relayed by a Magic Eye volunteer has led to the arrest of a notorious thief responsible for a series of "akyat-bahay" activities in eastern Metro Manila.

Pasig City police collared suspect Wilfredo Torres, 40, of Blk. 15 Buenos Aires Town Homes, Sta. Cruz, Antipolo City, tagged in at least eight robberies in unattended homes.

Metro police chief Deputy Director Reynaldo Velasco said a tip-off led to the arrest of the notorious robber on May 7, 2003 at around 4:30 p.m., when the suspect had been seen unloading a safety vault from a maroon Vanette (TKL-798) parked outside the Carvet Bodyworks at #96 A. Rodriguez Avenue, Barangay de la Paz, Pasig City.

The immediate dispatching of operatives of the Pasig City police resulted to the arrest of the suspect and the recovery of the safety vault, containing at least P2 million worth of cash and jewelry and which had been stolen the day before from the house of a certain Maria Luis Barreto in Barangay Little Baguio, San Juan, as well as another vehicle: a white Toyota Corolla with plate numbers PNP-7 and NET-148, which he used in his other heists.

The arrest of Torres, prompted seven other victims to surface and file criminal complaints of robbery against him. Most of the victims were residents of San Juan, Pasig City, and Marikina City. – Cecille Suerte Felipe