‘Cops’ rob Japanese tourist in Malate

MANILA, Philippines - A Japanese tourist was robbed by three men, two of whom were wearing police uniforms, a few meters away from a police station in Malate, Manila Saturday afternoon.

Masaaki Handa, 41, told probers at the Manila Police District’s General Investigation Section that he was walking at the corner of A. Mabini and Pedro Gil streets at around 4 p.m., when he was accosted by a policeman who accused him of being an illegal alien and demanded to see his passport and other identification papers.

Handa said the policeman told him to go to his companions riding a black and white Toyota Revo to present his papers. The policeman’s companions then ordered him at gunpoint to hand over his cash, cell phone, laptop computer, camera, and other belongings worth more than P146,000.

Handa said the three men sped away in the Revo. He said he was unable to get the car plate numbers because the plate had a tinted plastic cover.