Metrobriefs

Manila cops looking for ‘Boy Bawang’

Was he driven by an irrational fear of “aswang” or a desperate need for easy cash? Policemen are trying to pick up the scent left by a spice dealer’s errand boy who ran off with 20 sacks of garlic on Monday morning. Superintendent Ernesto Tendero, Manila Police District Moriones, Tondo, station commander, said that the 22-year-old suspect known only as John Rey was ordered by his employer, Jaime Bondail, to deliver the P30,000 worth of garlic to a stall in Divisoria. John Rey, however, failed to return and the sacks of garlic disappeared along with him, prompting Bondail to file a theft complaint against him.—Jeannette I. Andrade and Julliane de Jesus

Chinese man gets life term for 4 kilos of shabu

A Quezon City court on Tuesday sentenced a Chinese man to a life behind bars after a raid on his house in 2005 yielded nearly four kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, worth P20 million. In addition, Judge Fernando Sagun Jr. of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 78 also fined Zhong Mei Chen P2.5 million. “In a prosecution for illegal possession of dangerous drugs, the following facts must be proven beyond reasonable doubt, [namely], (1) that the accused is in possession of the object identified as a prohibited or a regulated drug; (2) that such possession is not authorized by law; and (3) that the accused freely and consciously possessed the said drug,” Sagun said in his ruling. Zhong was arrested during a raid on his apartment in Barangay (village) Bungad, Quezon City, based on a search warrant served by the police.—Julie M. Aurelio

Man who killed Chinese couple shot dead

A man who robbed and killed a Chinese couple and then used their 3-year-old son as a human shield was killed in a shootout with the police in Package 2, Barangay 176, Caloocan City, on Monday night. The robber, who had yet to be identified, was described as between 25 and 30 years old, 5’7” to 5’8” tall, with curly hair and of slim build. The couple were identified as Lin Qing Kai and his wife, owners of U2 Mart and General Merchandize, said Senior Superintendent Jude Santos, Caloocan police chief. Santos said the robber hid inside the mini-grocery store, killed the couple and ransacked the establishment. When the police arrived, he took hostage the couple’s 3-year-old son but was gunned down by lawmen. The boy was later rescued unharmed.—Kristine Felisse Mangunay and Maress Legaspi