Two minors were taken under police custody after stealing inside Rengel Mall, Monday night, February 3.
The suspects, 11 and 12 years old, stole more or less 20 units of cell phone, memory card, chargers, cell phone casing, caps and assorted RTWs from different stalls inside the mall.
Benedict Galzote said that he saw one of the suspects near their house and after recognizing their faces upon seeing the CCTV footage circulated on social media, he immediately asked the help of barangay officials.
“Nakita ko sila sa Barangay Tanglaw, suspicious palang ‘yun. Then, tiningnan ko ang cp ko at nung makita ko na kamukha, tumawag na ako sa barangay. Sila na ang kumuha sa bata at sinamahan kami sa tinutulugan nila at doon namin nakuha ‘yung isa,” Galzote said.
During police investigation, one of the minors said that they were from the municipality of Roxas, but their parents left them here for unknown reason.
“Pinsan ko po s’ya. Iniwan kami dito. Taga-Roxas po kami,” 11-year-old minor said when asked by the police officer.
Recovered from their possession were four units of cell phone, one clip charger and assorted shirts believed to be only the remaining stolen items from stalls in Rengel Mall.
City Police is now trying to contact their counterparts in Roxas to locate the parents of the minor while follow up operations is still ongoing to arrest the possible cohorts of the two.
Meanwhile, stall owners inside Rengel Mall particularly the victims are now preparing their appeal to the management for immediate action.