Victim catches up with robber after a year

A 34-year-old taxi driver who was charged last week with molesting and robbing two teenage girls in Manila was also being sought by the Pasig City Police for reportedly stealing P56,500 in valuables and cash from a passenger last year.

Pasig policemen coordinated Tuesday with the Manila Police District (MPD) on the arrest of Benjamin Agustin Jr. who is detained at the MPD integrated jail.

An arrest warrant against Agustin was issued by the Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 161 for a robbery on September 25 last year on Banaag Street, Barangay (village) Pineda, in Pasig.

Based on the complaint of Wincess Jimenez, Agustin stole her backpack, which contained two cell phones worth P51,500 in addition to P5,000 in cash.

Jimenez claimed that after she flagged down Agustin’s El Pueblo Transport Services taxi (TYE 463) on F. B. Harrison Street in Pasay City, she asked him to take her to Eastwood in Libis, Quezon City.

But upon reaching Banaag Street, Agustin claimed that his taxi had run out of gas, prompting Jimenez to pay her fare and alight from the vehicle. But as she was getting out of the vehicle, the driver allegedly grabbed her backpack and sped off in his cab.

Jimenez, however, was able to take down the taxi cab’s license plate and ask for help from passing motorcycle-riding traffic enforcers although they failed to catch Agustin.

The Pasig City police later tracked down the driver of the cab through the license plate number and filed a complaint of robbery against him.

Last week, two girls aged 14 and 16 accused Agustin of molesting them in a motel in Manila. He was arrested and found to be using someone else’s driver’s license.