On the same night, two commercial establishments in the Tomas Morato area of Quezon City were robbed just an hour apart, with both heists pulled off using similar tactics: A male customer walked in, looked for the toilet, then came out with a gun to declare a holdup.
In both cases, the robber also ran off with the shop’s digital video recorder (DVR), which may be used by the police in hunting him down. Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the two robberies were connected and even carried out by the same person.
First to be robbed was Kafé Hugo on E. Rodriguez Avenue near the corner of Morato Avenue in Barangay Kristong Hari, according to the Galas station of the Quezon City Police District.
Around 9:30 p.m., a man in a white shirt came in, placed an order, went to the restroom, then stepped out pointing a gun at the cafe’s two employees and two customers, station commander Supt. Michael Bernabe Macapagal said.
The robber bound their hands behind their backs using the cables of cell phone chargers and electrical plugs, before forcing them to stay inside the toilet and blocking the door with chairs, Macapagal said.
The robber got away with P6,800 in cash, about P45,000 worth of gadgets and the DVR of the cafe’s security camera. The victims managed to call for help only after climbing out the toilet’s window.
An hour later, the people inside Le Joyz Spa at the corner of Morato and Scout Madriñan Street experienced the same terror.
Around 10:30 p.m., a man in a white shirt with tribal art prints and carrying a black backpack came in to ask the receptionist about the services, then asked for the restroom.
Like in the Kafé Hugo heist, the man was already wielding a gun when he came out, forcing the receptionist and two customers to hand over some P10,000 in cash and a cell phone worth P20,000.
The victims were also moved at gunpoint into the employees’ quarters. The robber fired a shot at the floor to scare them before fleeing on a black motorcycle.
The DVR of the spa’s security camera was also taken, according to Supt. Limuel Esto Obon, chief of the QCPD Kamuning station.
On Jan. 4, a Kenny Rogers branch at the corner of Scout Albano and Quezon Avenue in Barangay South Triangle was also robbed by two men posing as customers. They also hogtied the workers and diners, took off with P626,000 worth of cash and valuables, and removed the restaurant’s DVR.