Lady lawyer, pal emerge bruised from ‘ipit-taxi’ Edsa robbery

A lawyer and her friend fell victim to a so-called “ipit-taxi” robbery gang Friday night in San Juan City, who not only took their cash, gadgets and jewelry but also assaulted them during the ride.

The police said lawyer Jennifer Papio and Kristine May Rayala, 23, boarded a white taxicab around 8 p.m. on Edsa near the VV Soliven building.

A few minutes later, three men also hailed the cab while it was still on Edsa and was allowed by the driver to get in. One of them took the front passenger seat, while the other two took the back seat, trapping the women in between them.

Announcing the holdup, the men punched the women when the latter tried to fight back, according to the city police chief, Senior Supt. Joselito Daniel.

Taken from the victims were P7,000 in cash, an iPad tablet, two mobile phones, their gold earrings, a 19-karat diamond ring and a wedding ring, the last belonging to Rayala.

The women were released also along Edsa after an “hour-long” ride with the robbers, Daniel said.  Kristine Felisse Mangunay