Man held after car chase over unpaid hotel bill

MANILA, Philippines — A man who refused to pay his bill at a hotel was arrested by police officers yesterday after they chased him for more than an hour from Quezon City to Manila.

Arvin Tan, 48, drove a black BMW car and hit several vehicles along the way as he attempted to elude lawmen who pursued him.

Lt. Col. Alex Alberto, Quezon City Police District Station 10 commander, said police officers responded to a reported commotion at the Sogo Hotel along Timog Avenue in Barangay South Triangle at around 10 a.m.

It turned out Tan, who was a customer at the hotel, reportedly refused to pay his bill and instead demanded P20,000 from the establishment’s employees.

Tan was already in his vehicle and was about to escape when police officers arrived at around 10:30 a.m. Instead of stopping, he bumped a police vehicle and drove along Timog Avenue.

He also hit a police officer who was riding a motorcycle and another police car.

Alberto said the suspect hit several vehicles along the way, including a vehicle of the Land Transportation Office and a tricycle.

The wild chase ended at the corner of Recto and Nicanor Reyes Avenues in Manila shortly before noon.

Police destroyed the windshield of Tan’s vehicle as he refused to come out. The suspect, who sustained injuries during the struggle with the lawmen, was brought to Station 10 for investigation.

Police officers recovered an identification card from Tan, supposedly from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, with his job description as action agent of the department.

Tan hurled profanities at the police officers as he complained about his handcuffs being too tight.

“T**na, posas ko sobrang ipit,” he shouted at the police officers.

Four policemen carried Tan to a vehicle that brought him to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center for medical examination. Alberto said in a radio interview that a bullet was left in Tan’s lower limb but did not say whether he was hit during the chase.

Alberto said they are accounting for all the vehicles hit during Tan’s rampage. The suspect will also undergo a drug test as he was incoherent and violent at the police station.

Probers are verifying if Tan was the same person who caused trouble at the Manila Police District headquarters in 2017.