A LOCAL courier service employee deeply regretted her actions after falsely claiming to be a victim of "snatching" in which P515,379.86 was supposedly stolen.
At 7:05 p.m. on Monday, November 11, 2024, a woman identified as "Mariel," 35, and a finance in-charge at the courier service, reported the alleged incident to Talomo Police. She stated that a motorcyclist had snatched her bag containing cash outside a pawnshop in Matina Aplaya, Davao City.
However, after a follow-up investigation, police reviewed CCTV footage and discovered the truth: there was no snatching. Instead, Mariel was seen handing the bag to the motorcyclist.
Upon further questioning, Mariel admitted to conspiring with her live-in partner, "Kath," a former employee of the same company. Mariel was arrested, and Kath was later apprehended at their residence, where police recovered P445,928 of the stolen money.
Police also discovered Kath's brother, "Ken," was involved but remains at large. The suspects confessed they had planned the crime to stage the theft as a snatching.
Police Capt. Hazel Tuazon, spokesperson for the Davao City Police Office, in a November 12 phone interview with VoxPop Davao, confirmed, “It was a planned crime, and through a thorough investigation by Talomo PNP, it was found to be a 'snatch-me' scheme.” said Police Capt. Hazel Tuazon, spokesperson for the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), in a phone interview with SuperVoxPop on Tuesday, November 12.
The suspects will face charges of Qualified Theft in court. JPC
