2 men arrested for stealing shoes from burning mall in Cebu

The fire is out but Gaisano Metro Ayala Mall is still engulfed in smoke on Sunday. Screenshot from ABS-CBN News footage
The fire is out but Gaisano Metro Ayala Mall is still engulfed in smoke on Sunday. Screenshot from ABS-CBN News footage

Two men were arrested on Saturday afternoon for stealing a pair of rubber shoes as Gaisano Metro Ayala Mall was in flames in Cebu City.

The two men were identified as Edwin Sarabia and Arnel Villarta, a backhoe operator and a dump truck operator respectively.

The two suspects were helping put out the fire inside the mall. According to Rezimelfe Serenas, one of the security guards in the scene, he witnessed Sarabia put on the shoes, which made the guard wonder where it came from.

Both Sarabia and Villarta later on admitted that the shoes weren’t theirs. Villarta said it fell from the burning mall.

The two men will be charged with qualified theft.

As of Sunday afternoon, the mall fire has been declared under control.




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