For six years, there have been reports of theft in several yoga studios in Metro Manila. This week, authorities finally nabbed the suspect allegedly preying on yoga practitioners around the metro.
The suspect’s name is Jordanian national Takiuddin Mazin Agha a.k.a. Ali Mazhid or John Malik.
According to a Facebook post by Benedict Bernabe, head of operations at I Go Beyond Yoga, Takiuddin’s modus operandi involves pretending to be a customer interested in taking yoga classes.
He asks a lot of questions and requests a tour around the studio then asks about the schedule to find out when the class is full. He pays for the fee upfront, making it a point to show “he has lots of cash in his wallet so that the receptionists won’t suspect” anything fishy.
Before the class starts, he will tell the yoga teacher that he has health issues. “Early into the class, he will feign tiredness and tightening in the chest and then will excuse himself from class.”
While the rest of the class is busy finding their centers and relaxing themselves, Takiuddin rummages through their lockers, taking anything and everything of value. He then leaves the premises immediately.
The suspect has finally been caught, thanks to a quick-thinking female receptionist who alerted Bernabe (who was at that time teaching in another part of Metro Manila), who in turn instructed his staff to call Rockwell security right away.
“When he exited the yoga class and entered the male locker room, they knew he was on his modus already,” Bernabe wrote. “This guy is large and six feet tall and carried a bag of tools that included chisels and ice picks.”
The receptionist (armed with a peppermint spray, not pepper spray) checked the male locker room and “saw that they’ve been compromised.”
She ran after Takiuddin, who was already plying the stairs to the second level, on his way out of the building.
The receptionist yelled at the security guard on the ground floor, “May nakuha na!” (“He already stole something!”) in an attempt to alert the authorities.
“It is worth mentioning the heroics of our building guard who single-handedly tackled and pin down all 6-feet and 300 lbs of our dear yoga thief,” said Bernabe. “The thief was pinned down the ground, armed Rockwell patrol guards came to back up our building guard and they called the police.”
When the suspect was brought to the police station, the authorities recovered from him a wallet containing PHP10,000 in cash, two mobile phones, dozens of stolen IDs and keys to lockers and cars.
Takiuddin has been charged with robbery, using fictitious names, and malicious mischief.
Several of his victims are filing more charges and Bernabe encourages others who have been victimized to come forward, otherwise Takiuddin will be set free if he can post bail.
“We want him to stay in jail while his case is being tried in Makati. I know he has had a lot of victims and I ask all of you to step forward and make it more difficult for him to leave jail,” said Bernabe.
He wants more complainants to come forward.
“It’s a hassle but I ask everyone to do their part in protecting our community and keep our studios safe for everyone! The more cases the better! If you file them in different cities, even better! Let’s give him a tour of our city jails and courts…
“We’re also working on his deportation. This will make sure that he will continue to be detained while he faces his multiple court cases. Our evidence is very strong (he was caught in the act and the police were the ones who retrieved the stolen items from him) and I’m confident of a conviction.”
If you think you been victimized by Takiuddin, Bernabe can be reached through email at benedict.bernabe@gmail.com.
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