A 44-YEAR-OLD man was charged with estafa after tricking a delivery driver by filling a one-liter Johnnie Walker Double Black with water instead of alcohol.
The incident took place at around 2:05 a.m. on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, when a certain Greman Louise Caaway Malinao, single, ordered Double Black Johnnie Walker worth P1,200 using the Maxim delivery app.
The booking was accepted by 25-year-old rider Charles Spencer Labos Belocyra, married, and had it delivered to Shopwise Mambaling.
But when he got there, no one came out to take the package, raising doubts that he had been tricked.
He looked into the bottle and saw that it was filled with colored water that had been artificially made to look like wine.
"Nakuyawan na daw siya kay basin ma-scam kay wala may misugat sa item! So iyahang giablehan sos na-unsa tubig man di-ay sulod sa Johnnie Walker," according to Major Jonathan Bethooven Taneo, chief of the Mambaling Police Station.
(He began to worry that he was being conned because no one met him. When he opened the package, he discovered that Johnnie Walker was filled with water).
The victim then reported the matter to the Mabolo Police Station, but he was referred to the Mambaling Police Station, which was in charge of handling the case.
The culprit was tracked down and taken into custody during a follow-up operation.
His cohort, however, eluded arrest.
Taneo dismissed the suspect's claim that his neighbor gave him the order to commit the crime.
The Mambaling police chief invited other riders who might have been victimized by Malinao to come forward and file a case against him. (GPL, TPT)