Police find man in viral ‘Grand Taft Auto’ video
MANILA, Philippines — The man in a viral video—which shows him holding on to the side of a moving passenger jeepney while punching another man inside the vehicle—was presented to reporters at Manila City Hall on Monday. The video, dubbed by netizens as “Grand Taft Auto,” a play on the name of Grand Theft Auto, a popular video game, was among the trending topics on Twitter. The incident took place on Taft corner United Nations Avenues on Sunday morning. “Just so everybody knows, some dude was trying to get away from three other guys by hopping in the jeep. They eventually caught up and beat him as you can see in the video,” wrote @icexalmocera, who uploaded the video. Jomar Alingod, the man clinging to the jeepney, explained that he was chasing a man who had harassed his friend’s wife. The man reportedly boarded the jeepney to get away from him, he claimed. Alingod said that the man was around 50 years old and a resident from Pasay City who frequented UN Avenue. After hearing of the incident which took place just meters away from the Manila Police District headquarters, the police began looking for Alingod. They eventually found him with the help of witnesses and took him in for questioning. Alingod and the man in the jeepney later agreed to settle their dispute amicably.–NIKKA G. VALENZUELA
