Alleged teenage robber dies after being beaten up by mob

MANILA, Philippines—An angry mob beat up two teenagers after they allegedly robbed a taxi driver of his earnings late Thursday night in Quezon City and one of the two youths died of his injuries in a hospital hours later, police said.

Case investigator Police Officer 2 Gilmer Marinas said Aaron Concepcion, 18, died while being treated at the Quezon City General Hospital early Friday, while his companion, Christian de Guzman, 19, was discharged after treatment and faces a charge of robbery.

Marinas said Ildefonso Ferrer, 50, was  driving his taxi on Betty Go Belmonte Street when Concepcion and De Guzman flagged him down and asked to be driven to Rosario Drive.

It was on Rosario Drive in Barangay Mariana at around 11:45 p.m. when the two teenagers pulled out knives  and announced a hold-up, Marinas said.

After divesting Ferrer of his P4,500 in earnings for the day, the two got out of the cab and would have made good their escape had the cabbie not locked himself in the vehicle and kept on honking his horn, getting the attention of an undetermined number of bystanders who then gave chase.

The mob caught up with Concepcion and De Guzman, beating them up until members of the local neighborhood watch arrived and stopped the blows.

The authorities  were able to recover Ferrer’s earnings from the two robbers, whom the driver positively identified, according to Marinas.

He said Concepcion died of severe head and body injuries at 4:45 a.m. Friday while De Guzman was discharged. But even after getting badly beaten up, De Guzman will still be charged with robbery, Marinas added.