Con artists dupe catechist, lotto outlet teller

Swindlers struck Saturday, victimizing a lotto outlet teller and a 72-year-old catechist in separate incidents in Cebu City.

“Ambot ato nganong na inganyo ko nila (I don’t know why I got sweet-talked),” said Remedios Amadora, a resident of barangay Tejero, Cebu City, after she lost P25,500 cash to a group of swindlers in barangay Sto Niño.

Amadora said she was walking on Legaspi Street past 1 p.m. Saturday when a woman approached her and introduced herself as Susan Tumulak.

Amadora said the woman claimed that she was a friend whom the victim had never seen for a long while.

Amadora said the woman even kissed her in the cheek and invited her to her  house blessing.

Amadora said she was brought to a white van parked nearby.

Inside the van, Amadora said she was introduced to a woman who claimed she was vacationing from Kuala Lumpur.

The woman boasted that she is a wealthy person since her husband is the brother of tycoon Lucio Tan.

Amadora said the woman spoke in mixed Tagalog and Chinese and was wearing assorted jewelry.

Later, two women arrived and told Amadora that they were there to buy 100 pieces of GI sheets.

Amadora said the woman who claimed to be Tan’s sister-in-law rich offered to give the two women 10 percent of the amount of the money they needed to buy GI sheets.

A few minutes later, Amadora said the woman who claimed to be Tan’s sister-in-law challenged her to produce any amount of cash and that she will receive the same amount from her.

Amadora then withdrew P25,000 cash from bank in a mall in Mabolo.

After withdrawing money, Amadora returned to barangay Sto. Niño where she met the strangers.

Amadora she then gave the money to the woman who in return gave her a bag purportedly filled with money.

Amadora said the woman who introduced herself as Susan Tumulak accompanied her to the Metropolitan Cathedral. The victim said she gave P500 cash to the woman before they parted ways.

Amadora said she became suspicious when she noticed that the bag contained hard objects.

Amadora brought the bag to the Waterfront Police Station where it was discovered that the bag contained pieces of paper.

Amadora said the P25,000 cash that she lost to the swindlers was intended for house repair.

Hours later, a swindler also duped a lotto outlet teller in barangay Pit-os, Cebu City.

Ulysses Brigoli told police that a woman who introduced herself as Sarah from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office arrived in the outlet looking for her employer.

The woman asked for the cell phone number of the owner of the lotto outlet so she could text her.

The lotto outlet owner, who asked not to be named, the woman even borrowed the teller’s cell phone.

Later, the woman showed to the teller a text message from her employer urging her to give her money.

The teller then handed over the outlet’s earnings worth P15,000 to the woman.

The woman had left when the teller found out that she had been duped. /Christine Emily L. Pantaleon, Correspondent