What will you do if you get alerted that someone had just picked your wallet?
Shouting
for help could do the trick, but it will be much better to keep calm, stalk the
thief, take her picture, then pull her by her clothes to stop her from running
away.
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| Suspect being questioned by the police by WorldWide Plaza's exit door, her bag placed nearby |
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| She was then led away in handcuffs |
This was
what an alert Filipina did at about 3:30pm on Jun 7, a statutory holiday, as
soon as someone told her to check her bag because someone had opened it as she
was busy checking out clothes in a shop on the first floor of busy World Wide
Plaza in Central.
In her
Facebook post that has become viral, Ezy de Vega Lopez said she immediately
noticed that her wallet and a cosmetics pouch were missing.
“Tinanong
ko agad yung babae na nagsabi sa akin kung sino ang nagbukas ng bag ko, then
she pointed out this woman rushing away from us…nagmamadali siya na naglakad to
get away or para tumakas. I calmly followed her. Nasa isip ko lang need ko
makuha wallet ko kasi nandun lahat ng IDs at pera ko. ..
She was
so calm that she managed to take a picture of the culprit standing by the exit
door.
“Luckily
inabutan ko sya papunta na siya ng exit door. Nang nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataon
na hilahin siya, hinablot ko damit niya para kunin ang wallet ko. Sabi ko, ate
kinuha mo wallet ko. Siyempre deny siya..hinablot ko ulit siya sa damit niya…halika
dito sa loob, dito tayo mag-usap. Of course makakatakas na siya kapag hinayaan
ko siya kasi exit door na iyon…ayun, nagpumiglas siya. Hinabol ko ulit siya
hanggang nanlaban na siya…nasa isip ko makuha ko iyong wallet ko kasi nandun
yung food allowance ko for the whole month…
Lopez later told The SUN she did not have much money with her at the time because she had already sent some to the Philippines, while the rest she kept at home. But her wallet had IDs, some Philippine pesos and Hong Kong dollars.
“Sabi
niya sandali…so sabi ko, hindi, akin na..hanggang mahulog sa floor yung ibang
laman ng bag niya kasi puno yung bag niya..tumambad sa akin sa sahig mula sa
bag niya ang wallet ko at pouch ko. Pati ibang gamit niya nalaglag din sa
floor. Tapos yung mga security guard lumapit na sa amin nung time na nahablot
ko na siya…tapos sinabi ko sa guard, that is mine, that’s my wallet and my
pouch…she took it from my bag…then ayun na kinorner na siya ng mga guards ng
WorldWide House. They then asked me to call the police…”
At this
stage, Lopez took more pictures of the other Filipina being questioned by the
building’s security staff, while her bag’s contents were strewn about. Then the
police apparently came and started questioning the thief.
Lopez
said she was told by the police later that the culprit had been jailed, and
that it was up to her whether she wanted to pursue the case.
She says
she has given a statement to the police, but now worries whether she should
press her claim, knowing that the thief also has a family relying on her in the
Philippines.
“Masakit
dun kapwa ko siya Pinay pero hindi man lang sya naawa sa akin,” Lopez adds. “At
hindi man lang siya humingi ng apology after the incident. Mataray pa siya nang
tanungin ko siya kung bakit niya nagawa yun.”
Lopez continued
her post with a warning to others to be doubly vigilant in looking after their
bags and wallets, especially in WorldWide House, where a lot of thieves are on
the prowl.
She also
thanked her fellow Filipina who alerted her that someone had opened her bag.
As a postscript,
one of her friends told her that her Facebook post had been liked by nearly
15,000. “Gusto nila sampahan mo ng kaso para di na umulit ang magnanakaw na
iyan. Sigurado hindi lang ikaw ang biktima.”
Lopez
merely “liked” the comment.
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