Foreigners fall victims to thieves in Leyte

INQUIRER FILES

TACLOBAN CITY – A group of foreigners conducting a medical mission in Palompon town, Leyte fell prey to thieves with cash amounting to P64,000 and 70 Euros missing from their rooms.

The incident, which occurred between Nov. 1 and 3, 2024, was discovered by the missionaries at 3 p.m. on Nov. 3 and reported to authorities on the evening of Nov. 4, a report from the regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) based in Palo, Leyte, showed.

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The victims, identified by aliases for security reasons, include six foreign nationals staying at a lodge in Palompon.

The group consists of a Swedish medical missionary and dentist known as “Joe,” 54, from Stockholm, Sweden, along with other Swedish nationals identified as “Nick,” “Elsa,” “Karen,” and “Ken,” as well as an Indian national referred to as “Jen.”

They arrived in Palompon on Oct. 28 to conduct outreach programs in local barangays.

According to the police report, “Joe” said the group had left their belongings unattended in their rooms while they were out to perform their medical mission.

The funds discovered missing from individual rooms on Nov. 3 included P20,000 from “Joe,” P6,000 from “Karen,” P10,000 and 70 Euros from “Nick,” P20,000 from “Elsa,” P3,000 from “Ken,” and P5,000 from “Jen.”

The Palompon Municipal Police Station said the group had left their room keys at the lodge’s front desk during their missions.

Since there were no signs of forced entry, authorities are examining the possibility of an inside job.

The Palompon police are currently reviewing footages of the closed-circuit television camera from the lodge.