A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Getting Mugged
This morning, at around 5-6am in the morning, across from our home, a woman screamed. Apparently, just as she was either leaving her house or the sari sari store after purchasing something, a van pulled up alongside her and snatched her valuables. Obviously, those thugs got away with it. I dont know what happened with the woman after the incident, whether she reported it to the police or whatever, but I hope that she’s ok.
My cousin told me this an hour ago after I got back home. She actually saw the incident from our house since she usually gets up early to go to school. Since I do leave the house and walk a few blocks to commute going to work, she told me to be extremely careful, because it’s no longer safe to be out on the streets nowadays.
Just this morning, also, before I was about to leave the house, I got a call from my mom. She told me to avoid wearing any jewelry as well as wear anything sleeveless, because her officemate’s husband was held at gunpoint and was robbed. It happened just last night, as the husband arrived home in his garage, four thugs entered his car. They held him at gunpoint for around 40 minutes, demanding his ring, his money, etc. He finally gave it to them, and when the thieves were finally leaving, he rushed to his house, locked all doors and shouted for help. The thieves left evidence in his car– an ID or something like that, and it turns out that the husband actually knew one of the bad guys. He happened to be their former mechanic, whom he invited to eat and even treated very well. And this was how the mechanic repaid his gratitude.
Imagine, someone getting mugged as early as 5-6am, when practically everybody is asleep?!? And getting mugged by someone you know?
This incident made me remember some of the horror stories I’ve heard so far about snatchers and other whatnot…
Horror Story #1
A friend of mine was actually surprised when I told him that I ride the bus or jeep going to work or wherever I needed to go. And he actually asked me if I have gotten mugged / held up already! And the way he asked me, as if it was like some sort of ‘right of passage’ for a person to get mugged when you’re commuting! Since I look Chinese, I guess that his question is understandable, since there’s a connotation here in the Philippines that if you’re Chinese, you’re rich, and therefore, you’d be more prone to that sort of thing.
He even told me that a friend of his who even looks like a barumbado (thug), was held at gunpoint very early, around 5-6am in front of the campus of De La Salle University. This just goes to show that thugs dont even wait for daylight to set to attack their victims anymore.
Horror Story #2
A friend of mine, still a student, was in a jeep, mooning and thinking about some things, and he didn’t realize that the jeep was being held up. One of the thugs was trying to grab his cellphone which was in his pocket, and my friend didn’t want to give it away, so he started kicking the thug, and they got into a kind of scuffle. And then my friend felt his pants tear. When he looked down, he saw blood. And he glanced up and saw the thug carrying a really long knife. In short, he gave the thug his cellphone. Good thing, though, that the wound my friend sustained was only minimal and wasnt anything serious.
Horror Story #3
This is a story told by a friend’s friend, which was actually kind of funny. This was in a Tamaraw FX. In the backseat, there were 4 passengers (the arrangment of seats in the back were in such a way that two faced the other two passengers), and one started holding up the other three. After getting their wallets and cellphones, the thug started holding up those in the front seats. As he was doing so, the person seated next to him, whom he stole from, noticed the bag which contained the pilfered items was open, and so gently, so as not to alert the thug, got his own cellphone and wallet back from the thug’s bag and placed it back into his own. Smart guy!
Horror Story #4
This story is similar to the previous one and was told by a friend’s neighbor. They were in either a jeep or an FX at the time, and after the thug got all their cellphones and wallets, the guy at his side (the neighbor), while the thug was still holding up the other passengers, got his own cellphone out of the thug’s bag and took out the Sim Card. The thug noticed and asked him what the heck he was doing, and he replied by asking the thug what he was going to do with the Sim Card. Point taken. He then got his wallet out and took out his ID’s, and then the thug asked again what the heck he was doing. He again replied by asking the thug what he was going to do with his ID’s. Another smart and fearless guy!
Horror Story #5
A friend of mine was walking outside the De La salle University Campus, busily texting. Since she was feeling stoned at the time, she didn’t immediately notice that a guy snatched her cellphone. I dont remember what exactly happened next, but she told me that she kicked the guy in the balls and so, when the guy went down, she was able to get her cellphone back. Funny story, but it’s true.
Horror Story #6
In Binondo, there was this someone from the Philippine Wushu team who just got a new cellphone– it was pretty expensive. He was busily texting using his new phone, and was inevitably held up by a thug. What happened? This guy is well-versed in Wushu! You figure it out!
Horror Story #7
This one, my friend who got stabbed told me. He was in a jeep at the time, and there were 4 guys who got on. They positioned themselves at the four corners of the jeep, and when the seats at the corners were already occupied, they made those people move so that they could seat themselves on those strategic places. Why were they doing this? So that they could hold up those people in between them. Good thing, my friend got off the jeep immediately after they seated themselves. Intuition is a good thing, so follow it, and you’ll never go wrong.
Horror Story #8
This one I actually read in the email. It’s actually a strategy that thugs use in pilfering items from people riding the jeep. Two men will sit beside a woman, and one spits. The other guy tells the woman that she has spit in her hair, and when the woman tries to wipe it off, the guy tells her that it’s still there and offers to wipe it off himself. While he does that, the other guy tries to get inside the woman’s bag and gets her cellphone and wallet.
