Robber kills 17-year-old student over cell phone

A first year Hotel and Restaurant Management student of the University of Manila died after he was repeatedly stabbed by a holdup man in a jeepney in Quiapo, Manila, the other day.

Renzo Rei Bodoy, 17, died due to multiple stab wounds after he refused to let go of his bag and cell phone. The robber, Richard Pring, 32, was later arrested.

On Wednesday, Pring was presented to Mayor Joseph Estrada after Manila Police District (MPD) operatives apprehended him in his house in Grace Park, Caloocan City.

Case investigator Jonathan Bautista said that around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, Bodoy was in a Quiapo-bound jeepney when Pring boarded the vehicle at Liwasang Bonifacio.

When the jeepney got to Quezon Bridge, Pring, who was holding a knife, grabbed the victim’s bag and cell phone but Bodoy resisted, prompting the suspect to stab him in the chest, Bautista said.

Bodoy jumped out of the jeepney but Pring followed him and repeatedly stabbed him before fleeing.

Bodoy was immediately brought to a hospital where he later died.

According to a witness, the jeepney was full of passengers but Pring, who was seated in front of Bodoy, singled him out when he saw the boy take out his cell phone.

In an interview, the suspect who is a member of the Batang City Jail, said he was under the influence of alcohol and badly in need of money when he committed the crime.

Pring faces robbery with homicide charges, Bautista told reporters.

According to Chief Insp. Alexander Rodrigo, chief of the MPD homicide, theft and robbery section, commuters should refrain from taking their cell phones out in public for their own safety and to avoid attracting the attention of robbers.