MANILA, Philippines—Police arrested Monday morning the taxi driver who robbed and attempted to kidnap an 18-year-old student of the University of Santo Tomas.
Members of the Quezon City Police District's Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD CIDU) nabbed Primitivo Sarmiento in his house in Muñoz, Quezon City.
Superintendent Antonio Yarra of the QCPD general investigation section said they found Sarmiento through the help of an informant who took them to the taxi company in the village of Ugong, Valenzuela City where the suspect worked.
A co-worker who recognized Sarmiento through the artist sketch released by the police then led them to the suspect’s house.
Sarmiento was positively identified by the victim, Valerie (not her real name), who went to the QCPD-CIDU office in Camp Karingal later in the day. She was accompanied by her parents.
The suspect yielded an AM Trans taxi cab with license plate TWN 875. Based on Valerie’s complaint, Sarmiento drove a KUL taxi with license plate TWC 897, which was found to have been issued to an Isuzu jeepney owned by a couple in Pagasa, Quezon City.
According to the police, both names, KUL and AM Trans, were not registered with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
Yarra said Sarmiento admitted changing the license plate and name of the taxi "which is a violation to be coursed through the Land Transportation Office.”
On November 22, Valerie said she flagged down a taxi cab and asked the driver to take her to her house in Sta. Mesa, Heights, Quezon City.
When they got there, the two argued because the driver said that Valerie gave him only P60 for her fare while she insisted that she had given him a P1,000 bill.
When Valerie’s mother came out of the house and heard her daughter arguing with the cab driver, she decided to ask for help from the watchmen.
The driver then sped off with Valerie still inside the cab. She escaped by jumping off the moving vehicle, sustaining injuries in the process.
Yarra said they would contact the victims of similar incidents to see if Sarmiento had been involved in other cases before.
“Initially, we will be charging him with robbery and serious physical injuries,” he added.
Valerie’s mother said they were thankful that the police were able to catch Sarmiento quickly.
“We also call on the authorities to check the colorum taxis plying Metro Manila to prevent similar incidents in the future,” she added.
Sarmiento’s arrest came a day after the QCPD released an artist sketch of him based on the description given to them by Valerie.
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