Did the ‘pandesal’ vendor kid lie about being robbed?
Grab from Christopher Pacheco’s youtube video
MANILA, Philippines – Was the 12-year-old boy selling “pandesal,” who was seen shaking and crying in a viral video, really robbed?
The police in Caloocan City are starting to doubt as the young pandesal (salt bread) vendor and his mother gave conflicting statements on the identity of the person who allegedly took the boy’s P200 earnings.
Chief Inspector Ding Reyes, Camarin Substation 5 of the Caloocan City Police, told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview that they would verify if the boy lied about the incident due to the inconsistencies in the statements the victim and his family members gave to police.
“Napansin po namin na pabago-bago statements nila. Noong una tinuturo niya ‘yung nakita sa CCTV (closed-circuit television), ngayon iba na ang sinasabi niya,” Reyes said.
The boy, whose name was withheld as he is a minor, is a grade five pupil who sold bread in Deparo, Caloocan.
Last October 9, the boy said in his narration in a barangay (village) complaint that a man wearing a cap called him and said “Come here, someone said he would buy your pandesal.”
He said someone hugged him from behind, covered his mouth, and pointed a knife to his side. After the alleged robbery, a concerned citizen took a video of the traumatized boy crying and shaking.
Days after the video went viral, a CCTV from a commercial establishment surfaced showing the suspected robber wearing a blue sando. Police said the boy positively identified the suspect.
But Reyes said the boy was claiming that the robber wore a long-sleeved shirt and had tattoos underneath it.
When the police asked the boy how he knew that the suspect bore tattoos, the boy and his mom said they saw a glimpse of the man’s tattoo as he was ascending the stairs.
The victim said the man was walking up the stairs when his arm brushed against a plant that slightly exposed the tattoo.
According to Reyes, the boy said he was at the second floor of a building where he sold pandesal to a female doctor in her clinic.
“But when we checked the plant, it was too soft. Hindi kayang makataas ng damit,” the police officer said.
A DZMM report earlier said that the police are suspecting that the boy made up an excuse that he was robbed as he was afraid to be beaten up by his mother if he failed to bring home his earnings.
“His mom even told us and the social workers that she will not file charges against the suspect because she did not want to incriminate an innocent person,” Reyes said.
