Minors victimize Korean, arrested

CEBU, Philippines - The police have collared three minors accused of picking the pocket of a Korean national along Gen. Maxilom Ave., Cebu City Friday night.

Acting on complaints on rampant illegal activities of minors in the area, City Intelligence Branch operatives conducted an operation that led to the arrest of the minors, including a girl, ages 13 and 14.

CIB chief Romeo Santander said the minors, whose names are being withheld to protect their identities, were caught victimizing Hoon Choz, 26, a Korean national who temporarily resides at the Korean Academy in Barangay Talamban.

Santander said that using their modus operandi, the minors gathered around Hoon and distracted him while one of them took his P7,000 cash from the back pocket of his pants.

Responding CIB policemen were able to immediately catch the minors and recover P5,000.

One of them, Santander said, told him that the missing P2,000 was already passed to another minor who managed to evade the policemen.

CIB was also unable to get the complete background information of Hoon because he was reportedly uncooperative in the investigation.

The foreigner also did not manifest interest in filing a complaint after most of his money was turned over to him.

Santander said the three minors, residents of neighboring Barangays Ermita and Pasil, are now in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

He said they interviewed the kids and learned that they are allegedly being backed up by public utility jeepney dispatchers in the area.

“Ato nang gipaubos sa (We already subjected those dispatchers to) profiling nang mga tawhana to determine kung tinuod ba nang ilang (the truth of the minors’) allegation,” the CIB chief said.

He said Police Regional Office 7 director Danilo Constantino directed them to intensify efforts against minors victimizing foreigners, mostly Koreans, because of the increasing number of incidents involving visitors from other countries. — /RHM (FREEMAN)