Korean, companion lose P4.6 M to robbers in Laguna mall

SAN PEDRO CITY – A Korean and his Filipino companion lost P4.6-million worth of payroll money to robbers at a shopping mall parking lot in Calamba City in Laguna province on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday.

Supt. Fernando Ortega, Calamba City police chief, said Lee Dongho, 40, and his companion, Jhenelyn Baccay, 24, had just withdrawn the amount from a branch of a bank inside the SM City Calamba mall at 3 p.m. when they were approached by three men at the parking lot.

Ortega said the robbers, at gunpoint, commandeered the victims’ vehicle until they reached Barangay Prinza in the city where the suspects took off with the money. The victims were unhurt.

The stolen money was the payroll for employees of FS Phil Corp., a construction company based in Pampanga province. The company has a branch in Barangay Batino in Calamba City where Dongho is branch manager and Baccay an administrative supervisor.

“Please note that these are all still allegations,” Ortega said in a telephone interview on Wednesday, noting that they were checking all possible angles, including the robbery was an “inside job.”

Ortega said the open space where the victims claimed they were attacked did not have a security camera. The victims, he said, reported the incident to the police three hours later.

In a separate telephone interview, Rachel Gomez, FS Phil Corp. accounting head, said the company has been cooperating and working with investigators of the Laguna police. CDG