ANGELES CITY- There were initial hopes for a record-breaking zero crime rate during the last Christmas holidays here, but it was shattered by two holduppers who shot dead last Dec. 30 night a Filipino-Chinese businessman who refused to turn over to them his gold bracelet at traffic-clogged downtown Barangay Sto. Rosario.
City police director Senior Supt. Pierre Bucsit identified the victim as Arwin Ting, a local trader whose father was also shot dead two years ago also in this city by Aeta suspects selling fake gold bars.
Earlier on the same day, local police operations chief Senior Supt. Gemma Vinluan boasted of zero crime rate in this city since last Dec. 22, an unusual situation as crimes, particularly against properties, normally jack up during the Christmas holidays.
“The incident last Tuesday was the only blight. We could have established an unprecedented zero crime rate record during the holidays except for that holdup incident,” Bucsit lamented.
Bucsit said that Ting, who was on board his van being driven by his driver, was caught up in traffic in front of Mr. Frosty restaurant at downtown Sto. Rosario at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when two suspects riding tandem on a black motorcycle sidled up to the van’s passenger’s side.
One of the suspects poked a .45 caliber pistol at Ting’s window and motioned for him to turn over a gold bracelet he was wearing. The suspect with the pistol moved on foot to the side of the driver while the other who was wielding a knife remained on the motorcycle.
“Instead of turning over his bracelet, Ting threw it to the van’s back compartment, prompting one of the suspects to shoot him,” Bucsit said.
With the window on the driver’s side already shattered by the gunshot, one of the suspects opened the van’s door to reach out for the bracelet before fleeing on their motorbike towards the direction of neighboring Porac town.
The van’s driver eventually drove wounded Ting to the Angeles University Foundation Medical Center where he eventually died.
Bucsit said that apparently, the suspects also carted away cash, as he noted reports that the victim was also carrying cash.
He said investigators are now getting more information about the crime from the many witnesses.
Two years ago, two Aeta suspects were arrested by the police after they were tagged as the killers of Ting’s father who had arranged for a meeting with them in a remote area at the foot of Mt. Pinatubo over a purported gold bar deal. When the elder Ting ascertained that the bar was fake, the two Aetas shot him dead and fled with his cash.
Except for the Tuesday holdup, no other crime has been reported in this city during the Christmas holidays, even up to yesterday, Bucsit said.
This, despite the ratio of one cop per 1,838 population as against the ideal one for every 500.
Vinluan said the local police force of 389 uniformed men and women have been on 12-hour shifts to make their presence felt 24 hours a day all over the city.
She noted that before the shooting of Ting, the only untoward incident noted was a minor brawl between relatives in a drinking bout, but the police pacified them without anyone filing a formal complaint.
Asked whether the cops are getting overtime pay, Vinluan said no, adding that “we’re used to working over the usual eight hours a day without extra pay anyway”.
But she said that apart from the regular police force, there are also 35 police trainees at work.
“We also have so many civilian volunteers for peace and order, including those from the Citizens’ Crime Watch, Cobra and Barkada 2K,” she noted.
Vinluan said the morale of city cops have been boosted by the 12 brand new vehicles turned over recently by Mayor Francis Nepomuceno, including three all-terrain vehicles and four motorcycles which enable policemen to patrol even narrow alleys.
In an earlier interview, Bucsit also noted that even before the local crime rate dropped to zero, crimes in this city went down from an average of six to four percent since last June arising from increased police visibility particularly in crime-prone areas.
He identified the crime-prone areas as down town Barangay Sto. Rosario where Ting was shot dead and the Barangay Balibago commercial district near the tourist belt at Friendship Avenue.
City police director Senior Supt. Pierre Bucsit identified the victim as Arwin Ting, a local trader whose father was also shot dead two years ago also in this city by Aeta suspects selling fake gold bars.
Earlier on the same day, local police operations chief Senior Supt. Gemma Vinluan boasted of zero crime rate in this city since last Dec. 22, an unusual situation as crimes, particularly against properties, normally jack up during the Christmas holidays.
“The incident last Tuesday was the only blight. We could have established an unprecedented zero crime rate record during the holidays except for that holdup incident,” Bucsit lamented.
Bucsit said that Ting, who was on board his van being driven by his driver, was caught up in traffic in front of Mr. Frosty restaurant at downtown Sto. Rosario at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when two suspects riding tandem on a black motorcycle sidled up to the van’s passenger’s side.
One of the suspects poked a .45 caliber pistol at Ting’s window and motioned for him to turn over a gold bracelet he was wearing. The suspect with the pistol moved on foot to the side of the driver while the other who was wielding a knife remained on the motorcycle.
“Instead of turning over his bracelet, Ting threw it to the van’s back compartment, prompting one of the suspects to shoot him,” Bucsit said.
With the window on the driver’s side already shattered by the gunshot, one of the suspects opened the van’s door to reach out for the bracelet before fleeing on their motorbike towards the direction of neighboring Porac town.
The van’s driver eventually drove wounded Ting to the Angeles University Foundation Medical Center where he eventually died.
Bucsit said that apparently, the suspects also carted away cash, as he noted reports that the victim was also carrying cash.
He said investigators are now getting more information about the crime from the many witnesses.
Two years ago, two Aeta suspects were arrested by the police after they were tagged as the killers of Ting’s father who had arranged for a meeting with them in a remote area at the foot of Mt. Pinatubo over a purported gold bar deal. When the elder Ting ascertained that the bar was fake, the two Aetas shot him dead and fled with his cash.
Except for the Tuesday holdup, no other crime has been reported in this city during the Christmas holidays, even up to yesterday, Bucsit said.
This, despite the ratio of one cop per 1,838 population as against the ideal one for every 500.
Vinluan said the local police force of 389 uniformed men and women have been on 12-hour shifts to make their presence felt 24 hours a day all over the city.
She noted that before the shooting of Ting, the only untoward incident noted was a minor brawl between relatives in a drinking bout, but the police pacified them without anyone filing a formal complaint.
Asked whether the cops are getting overtime pay, Vinluan said no, adding that “we’re used to working over the usual eight hours a day without extra pay anyway”.
But she said that apart from the regular police force, there are also 35 police trainees at work.
“We also have so many civilian volunteers for peace and order, including those from the Citizens’ Crime Watch, Cobra and Barkada 2K,” she noted.
Vinluan said the morale of city cops have been boosted by the 12 brand new vehicles turned over recently by Mayor Francis Nepomuceno, including three all-terrain vehicles and four motorcycles which enable policemen to patrol even narrow alleys.
In an earlier interview, Bucsit also noted that even before the local crime rate dropped to zero, crimes in this city went down from an average of six to four percent since last June arising from increased police visibility particularly in crime-prone areas.
He identified the crime-prone areas as down town Barangay Sto. Rosario where Ting was shot dead and the Barangay Balibago commercial district near the tourist belt at Friendship Avenue.
