Non-paying tourist brought to police station, detained; man arrested for ‘stealing’
16-year-old student loses cellphone, earphones to two men on sidewalk
A NEW Zealand national arrived in Cebu City last Dec. 5 and checked in a pension house on Juana Osmeña St. He told management he would pay for his accommodation and food.
The NS Royal Pension, however, did not receive any payment from Sean Terry Bullock-Bain, 34, for the 15 days he stayed and ate there.
Last Sunday night, management decided to bring Bullock-Bain to the nearby police station, where he is currently jailed for complaints of estafa.
“Magsige ra siyag promise ba, kada adlaw, hangtod nga naka- decide na gyud ang management nga arestuhon siya (He kept promising he would pay, every day, until the management grew tired of him),” said PO1 Eutemio Catalan of Police Station 2.
Catalan, the station’s desk officer, said the foreigner will be detained, while authorities wait for the pension house’s decision whether to file a case against him.
Niño Adrian Dizon of NS Royal Pension earlier told police they were still studying their next move.
“Nagduha-duha pa sila ba (They’re having second thoughts),” he said. Catalan reminded the Dizons that they can only hold Bullock-Bain in the station for up to 72 hours.
Money owed
If no case is filed against him in court, police will have to release him or else they can be held liable for illegal detention.
The foreigner owes the pension house P20,040, which was unpaid as of yesterday, according to Catalan.
In another incident last Sunday, 16-year-old student Samantha Lopez was on the sidewalk waiting for a public utility jeepney when two men came up from behind her and grabbed her hand.
They allegedly said, “Ayaw’g shagit, hilom lang (Don’t scream. Keep quiet).”
This happened in broad daylight.
They took her Samsung Galaxy Prime smart phone worth P9,999 and an Apple headset worth P3,000.
Lopez told SPO1 Torregosa of the Cebu City Police Office that one of the men wore a yellow sleeveless shirt and shorts. They both had dark complexion.
An hour later, a man was arrested after he was caught taking P1,520 in cash from a drawer inside an Internet cafe on M.J. Cuenco Ave.
Jay Sumampong, 19, was caught with the help of the Megamax Internet Cafe’s closed-circuit television camera.
When cafe attendant Christie Mae Menisterio and barangay tanod Renerio Guibon confronted Sumampong, they found him with P520. He is now detained.
Two hours later, SM Seaside City mall security guard Marvin Lavanas arrested 22-year-old Junro Basanez for carrying an unsold LED spot lamp worth P6,500.