THE police denied there was an attempt to abduct a 16-year-old female student of a private university in Sunrise Village, Barangay Poblacion Pardo, Cebu City on Wednesday night, Dec. 4, 2019.
However, the Pardo tanods were surprised after they received a report that masked men onboard a green van tried to kidnap the student.
The student, a resident of Barangay Quiot, went to Sunrise Village to meet her mother past 8 p.m.
The unidentified men reportedly failed to force the girl inside their vehicle after she resisted them. The student is reportedly a member of her school’s karate team.
After the incident, a classmate took a video of the girl and uploaded it on social media with a caption that she was almost kidnapped.
Tanods rushed to Poblacion Pardo, but they failed to catch the suspects.
Theft victim
Investigation conducted by the Pardo Police Station revealed that the student had been a victim of theft—men onboard an old multicab snatched her cell phone. These findings debunked the girl’s classmate’s story posted on social media.
Pardo Police Station chief P/Maj. John Kareen Escober said they would check closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to identify the snatchers. The CCTV camera from an establishment near where the theft happened was not functioning at the time of the incident.
Escober said the girl was using her cell phone while she was walking. After a multicab stopped near her, a man inside the vehicle went out and tried to hold her. The girl kicked the man.
“Mao na dayon to ang estorya nga naay mo-abduct niya (Then the story came out that there was an attempt to abduct her),” he said.
In a separate interview, Cebu City Councilor David Tumulak, the police affairs chairman, said he personally interviewed the student, who told him that there was no abduction attempt.
Tumulak felt dismayed that the theft was not reported to the police right away.
Because of the incident, the councilor urged the public not to believe anything on Facebook. Tumulak, however, urged everyone to remain vigilant and report to the police any persons acting suspiciously.
The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), for its part, advised parents not to panic as the social media post had been proven false by its investigators.
CCPO officer-in-charge P/Col.Giovanie Maines said parents should monitor their children at all times.
He said they are investigating the “attempted abduction” of a minor in front of the church in Barangay Punta Princesa earlier this week. (AYB / KAL)