Burglars strike house of Japanese

BURGLARS broke into the house of a Japanese national in Mandaue CIty at dawn yesterday and took almost  P2 million in cash and valuables.

Kenta Kobayashi, 39, reported the robbery  in his residence in  A-1 Emerald Estate Subdivision in M.L. Quezon Street.

Kobayashi is  the manager of the company Makoto in Mepz 1 in Lapu-Lapu City.

He said he   woke up about 5:30 a.m. to go to the  toilet  when he noticed one of the three sliding windows of the comfort room already open.

He said he checked his belongings and discovered that a bag containing his money and several  gadgets was already opened.

Empty envelopes that earlier contained money  bills lay  scattered on the floor.

The robbers took the money in his wallet too.

SPO2 Marcos Noval of the Mandaue City Police Office said the businessman had   earlier received his salary and divided it in eight envelopes for his children’s tuition and other bills.

The envelopes were placed in the bag , which was left on the floor near the bottom of the bed where the manager and  his wife were asleep.

Three envelopes containing $16,000,  ¥500,000  and ¥150,000 were missing. Five other envelopes that used to contain  $7,4000 cash were left empty.

The victim also lost his Rolex watch worth ¥500,000, a Seiko watch worth P13,000, and a North Face pair of sandals worth P4,000.

The homeowner said he suspects the burglars climbed to the  rooftop and entered the master’s bedroom by passing through the 20″x24″ sliding window of its comfort room.

The burglars then jumped seven feet from the windows to the floor in the second floor.

They left through  the door beside the living room.

One of his  children’s Adidas sling bags was also missing and was possibly used to carry the loot.

Police said they found a pair of black slippers on the roof, which may have been owned by the burglars.

Police investigators found a  footprint in the scene.

Noval said the driver and two of the three helpers of the victim were on duty when the incident happened.

The incident is under investigation. /Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos