Indians targeted?
Students' apartments being robbed
who are studying medicine in Davao City expressed their alarm over rampant theft incidents in their area, making them feel unsafe.
A group of Indian students sought audience with Sun.Star Davao last week hoping that authorities would listen to their plight.
Jen, not her real name, raised her concern on the series of stealing incidents in their place. These incidents usually transpired at El Rio Subdivision, Mineral Village, Marfori Heights Subdivision, Doña Vicenta, Garcia Heights and Fatima Village where Indian students of Davao Medical School Foundation
(DMSF), Inc. reside.
She said that the suspect usually attacks at night when they are sleeping or even in broad daylight when they are in school or attending their clerkships.
It was her first time last June 2 to experience burglary but she said that there were several incidents that already happened in other areas where Indians are staying. Initially, they were five in their apartment. On that day, they slept late around 1 a.m. and got up 3 a.m. only to find some of their personal belongings gone.
“Few people said that they heard a noise at the gate by 2 a.m. so they thought that it was us who passed by but it wasn’t us because we are all sleeping at that time,” she said.
Stolen were one laptop, a mobile phone, a wallet, and her watch.
A similar incident also transpired at her friend's apartment where money and a laptop were also stolen.
“My bedroom was open. The person might have come inside while I was sleeping. My friend and I were sleeping on that bed and we have a table beside the bed there I have my Ipad and my watch. He came there and took all those stuff but there was no noise,” she added.
Unfortunately, there was no close circuit television (CCTV) in their apartment, thus, the difficulty of identifying the suspect. ROVING They urged the city government of Davao and the police to take a look at their concern, as the number of robberies have been increasing. They suggest that police patrol also go around subdivisions and not just on main roads.
They often see police vehicles parked on the main road, they said, but they do not see these going around the inner streets.
She said that they no longer expect their lost items to be recovered. They only want the robberies to stop.
“If these things happened one or two times then it's fine. A lot of Indians have complained and this particular kind of incident has been happening each and every day. Every Indian is losing something," she said.
They also noted that the targets of the suspect are female Indians, thus, they are seeking for more protection from the government side.
“It’s better if the government and the police give attention and more protection to these places like making rounds at night so it will be safe for us,” she said.
INTENSIFIED POLICE PATROL
In an interview yesterday with Davao City Police Office (DCPO) director Police Senior Superintendent Alexander Tagum, he assured the Indian community that they will look into their concern.
“Lahat ng crime incidents are being closely monitored by our office including their actions taken, countermeasures implemented and immediate apprehensions of criminals. Weekly ang Enhanced Managing Police Operations namin dito sa HQs,” he said.
There is already a police vehicle deployed to make patrol in their areas.
“We have a 24/7 Mobile Patrol Unit in their vicinities to ensure their security and safety. I also directed my chief investigator to validate this info and to direct the Station Commander of San Pedro to immediately act on this and initiate counter measures,” he said.
He also raised the concern to San Pedro Police Station Police Chief Inspector Ramil Macarampat and the latter promised that he will personally look into the matter.
In a separate interview with Macarampat, he said that they arrested three suspects of robbery/ hold-up incidents in the area. However, one of them is a minor so they just released the suspect but the two were detained.
Macarampat also said that their station received a complaint from Indian students and he said that probably their fellow students were also behind these incidents since there was no force entry inside the room during their investigation.
However, he vowed to monitor these incidents and address this as soon as possible.