He didn’t even run.
Facebook user K-jay Maralit shared a now-viral video on Sunday of a man stealing a cellphone from a jeepney passenger along Aseana Ave. in Parañaque City.
Maralit told people to take care after seeing the thief steal a woman’s cellphone. “Let’s not use our cellphones if we’re not making important [calls or sending messages]. To those who see this man, take precaution,” he said in Filipino.
The 38-second dashcam footage shows the man walking up to the right side of the jeepney and snatching the phone from a woman Maralit identified as Lhove Ly Mu. Mu can be heard in the video shouting in Filipino: “My cellphone!”
The man, wearing a white shirt and a red cap, then casually walks right in front of Maralit’s car, shifting his eyes to the jeep to see if someone was following him. When he sees that no one did, he continues walking to the sidewalk.
“There he is!” Maralit’s wife can be overheard saying in Filipino inside his vehicle.
The thief can be seen taking his cap off and hopping over a fence, ultimately getting out of sight.
“He’s gone… It’s like nothing happened,” the wife added.
Maralit told Coconuts Manila that the incident happened on Sunday at 5:10pm.
He said that Mu, the victim, did not disembark from the jeepney to chase the thief.
He added that there were no authorities in the area and that the police station was far from where the incident took place.
“I wanted to chase the guy, of course, but I got scared because my wife and I might get hurt,” Maralit added in Filipino.
He said, however, that he was able to give Mu his contact number and offered her the dashcam footage when he caught up with the jeepney at a stoplight.
He added that Mu already went to the Baclaran Police Station earlier today to report the crime.
Mu reposted the video on her Facebook account and warned commuters to take care while commuting.
“This guy suddenly snatched my cellphone which I just got from my bag because I was just about to update my husband to tell him that I’m on my way home,” she said in Filipino.
“It’s annoying that he wasn’t scared at all… It’s as if nothing happened!” she added.
She also thanked Maralit for chasing the jeepney she was riding to tell her that he had a video of the incident.
Mu called the thief out, saying that he should get a job instead of making a living out of stealing. “Papa God will be the one to deal with you.”
Coconuts Manila has reached out to Mu but she has yet to respond.
The video had over 1 million views and 28,000 shares as of this article’s posting. Netizens urged friends to also take precaution while commuting.
Jamie Sate tagged a friend and wrote in Filipino: “Don’t use your cellphone all the time, you might be next!!!”
Kym Glenard Billiones also tagged a friend and wrote: “This is why I don’t feel safe. Take care, you’re always too relaxed [when commuting].”
Fandiño Aristeo said: “Everyone take care, just use your cellphones in your homes, there are a lot of bad people here in the metro.”
Cattaleya Kye Goopio said: “If that were me I would’ve hit him [with my car].”
Zii Preza said that Maralit should’ve used his horn so the thief would’ve looked directly at the dashcam.
Have you experienced anything like this? Leave a comment below or tweet us @CoconutsManila.
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