Burglars target QC restaurant, cell phone store

MANILA, Philippines—Burglars made off with nearly P300,000 worth of cash and electronic devices in separate heists on a restaurant and cell phone  store in Quezon City.

Both break-ins were discovered on Saturday morning after the two establishments opened for the day. The City Best Seafood Garden on Tomas Morato Avenue in Barangay (village) Laging Handa reported that it lost close to P200,000 in cash while a cell phone store on the ground floor of Waltermart Mall in Project 7, Edsa, was robbed of P85,000 worth of electronic gadgets.

According to a report from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Kamuning station, the burglary at City Best was discovered around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday when its employees came in to start work. They immediately noticed that the door to the administrative office had been forced open. Everything inside the room was in disarray, prompting them to call the police.

QCPD Kamuning station investigators said that the burglars entered the restaurant through a hole intended for the installation of an exhaust fan and took the payroll money worth P134,000; the restaurant’s cash sales of P42,000; and P16,000 worth of employees’ tips.

Meanwhile Sarah Galicia, sales clerk of a cell phone firm at Waltermart Mall, reported that eight electronic tablets worth P64,000 and three mobile phones valued at P21,000 were stolen from her kiosk. QCPD Masambong station investigators said that the burglary might have happened between 10 p.m. on Friday when Galicia closed down the kiosk and 9 a.m. Saturday when it opened for business.—Jeannette I. Andrade