An unidentified woman abducted a six-month-old baby at Luneta Park in Manila, and it was all caught on camera.
In a report by Radyo INQUIRER, the baby’s mother, Sarah Tumanguil, told the Manila Police District (MPD) that her baby was taken from her on November 28, at 10 a.m.
Tumanguil said that before she went to a restroom, she left her baby to a certain “Philip,” a bystander in Luneta. However, when she came back, her baby was gone.
“Noong pagbalik ko, wala na ‘yung anak ko (When I returned my baby was gone),” Tumanguil said as she burst into tears.
“Umiyak-iyak na ako. Hindi ko na makita anak ko. Tapos tinanong ko ‘yung matanda, eh ‘yung pinagbantay ko, antukin eh, nakatulog (I was crying. I could no longer see my child. Then I asked the one looking after my baby, he was sleepy, he fell asleep).”
The incident when a woman carried away Tumanguil’s baby was caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera until she was leaving Luneta on that day.
At 2 a.m. on Thursday, Tumanguil brought to the MPD whom she suspected to be the woman who allegedly kidnapped her baby. The woman was nabbed through citizen’s arrest.
Tumanguil claimed that the woman was the same person she saw on the CCTV footage.
However, the woman appeared to be different from the kidnapper, according to Police Officer 3 Marlene Remetio of the MPD Women and Children’s Protection Unit.
“As an investigator on the case, I decided to release the suspect,” Remetio said.
The MPD advised parents to never leave their children, especially infants, alone in crowded places.
Police advised those who have information on the whereabouts of Tumanguil’s baby to contact her via mobile number 0929-1626823. With Mark Gene Makalalad, Radyo Inquirer/jpv