Perfume sales rep charged with theft

A SALES representative of a health & beauty store is accused of stealing freebie items inside a mall here.

Charged with qualified theft under the Revised Penal Code (RPC) is Clemente Cagollodo Coquilla Jr., a fragrance sales representative of Watsons Davao.

Coquilla faced the charges with his co-sales representative John Hazel Atamosa but the case of the latter for the same complaint was dismissed for lack of evidence.

Records show that there were perfumes on promotion at Watsons last October 31 where customers can avail of discounts when purchasing items in bundle.

A female customer then availed the promo by purchasing a bundle of the item worth P13,500 as reflected in the receipt but another receipt was allegedly issued separately which pegged the item at P2,199.

The customer was then given freebies comprised of three bags, an umbrella and a large teddy bear stuffed toy. She was also given two additional ladies' bags as freebies for the bundle she bought from Atamosa, the respondent's co-sales representative.

Coquilla then accompanied the customer to the counter and instructed the counter checker at the cashier's booth to separate the items bought by the customer in three plastic bags.

When Coquilla took his break period, a roving security guard followed and saw him meet the customer outside the mall. The female customer allegedly handed two plastic bags to Coquila, one with a teddy bear and the other contained assorted products. Coquilla was

seen handing P1,000 to the customer and walked away. He was also seen handing the two plastic bags to a sidewalk vendor for safekeeping.

The guard immediately reported what he saw to the management, thus, the accused was called for investigation.

It was alleged that Coquilla asked the customer to buy for him one BVLGARI perfume worth P5,850 but the accused allegedly changed the price into only P2,000. The remaining balance is due to be paid.

According to the management, the perfume bought was not entitled to freebies since it was bought without a bundle with other perfumes.

Prosecutor Maria Cynthia Adao Prat, in a resolution, said taking of the items was clearly done with grave abuse of confidence. She also said that the accused, being the fragrance sales representative, made use of his position to obtain the items. ICT