IPIT-TAKSI
The so-called "Ipit-Taksi" gang has struck again. And this time, the victim is one who is dearly close to me, my own sister.
The unfortunate encounter happened last night. My sister was on her way to Sampaloc, Manila, where she was supposed to board a bus bound for our hometown in Alicia, Isabela. Unable to get a cab from our place in Pasig City, she took an FX taxi going to Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas Center, where she thought she had better chances of getting a cab, considering that taxis usually congregate in mall areas at any time of the day. Upon reaching Galleria, she noticed the long queue of commuters in the designated waiting area for taxicabs. Not wanting to waste any more time since she had a provincial trip to catch, she decided to just wait nearby.
A vacant yellow taxi did pass by not long after. She hailed it and, to her great relief, the driver, who was in his mid-forties and wearing a cap, agreed to bring her to Sampaloc, Manila, without much discussion as to the fare, which is usually the practice of many unscrupulous taxi drivers during rush hour. Preoccupied with the single nagging thought of arriving at the bus terminal on time, she boarded the taxi and settled at the back seat without bothering to check the body number or plate number of the taxi upon boarding.
On the way, the driver advised my sister to move to the driver side of the back seat purportedly because the right tire at the back was wiggling a bit. My sister did move a bit to the center. Upon reaching La Salle Greenhills, which is just a hundred or so meters away from EDSA cor. Ortigas Avenue, the driver suddenly stopped the taxi and, without any warning whatsoever, let inside two men who were in their mid-twenties. One seated himself beside the driver while the other sat beside her.
Although greatly surprised and alarmed by the sudden turn of event, my sister did not lose any second in trying to open the left passenger door. However, the door could not be opened as it was securely locked. Then, she heard one of the men telling her to be still and just obey their commands. She was told that unless she put up a resistance, they were not going to do her any harm. They were just there for the money supposedly because one of the crooks’ wife and son were in dire need of medical treatment.
Frightened for her own life, my sister could not do anything but to meekly accede to the demands of the felons. Her bag was thoroughly combed for any valuable items. When they found her two ATM cards inside, they forced her, by threat and intimidation, to divulge the PINs for both. She was also divested of her pair of earrings and college ring, which was a gift from our late father. Her cell phone was likewise taken away.
All the while, they were driving towards the general direction of Quezon City. She discovered this when she caught a glimpse of the GMA 7 building along Timog Avenue. They traversed EDSA and then entered East Avenue. Thereafter, they went into a side street, which was unknown to her since she is relatively unfamiliar with Quezon City. One of the criminals alighted when they got near a bank with an ATM ostensibly to withdraw from my sister’s ATM accounts, while the rest of them drove on for a while. After a couple of minutes, they went back to ferry the hold-upper, who withdrew money. They then again circled the area for some more minutes, perhaps in an attempt to befuddle and disorient my sister.
At around 9 p.m., my sister was finally dropped off in a dark corner in the Quezon City Elliptical Circle, near the Department of Agriculture, but not after she was threatened not to look back, otherwise they would return and do her harm. The criminals did have a soft heart (?) to leave her some money to pay for her fare home.
While we are thankful that nothing untoward happened to my sister, we hope that law enforcers shall arrest the culprits soon to stop them from further perpetrating their dastardly crime on innocent people.
By the way, when I recounted the incident to an officemate, I was told that she did receive an e-mail message awhile back, containing an account of a young professional of his experience of being held up in a similar fashion also in Ortigas Center. I believe that the perpetrators are one and the same. I hope most fervently that the hands of justice would soon catch on them. Let it be shown that crime does not pay in our society!
Finally, my advice to fellow commuters: Always be vigilant and on guard. Try to spend some minutes memorizing or much better, jotting down the body marking as well as the plate number of the taxi one is boarding. These pieces of information shall be of great help to our law enforcers should one find himself or herself in the same distressing situation.
The unfortunate encounter happened last night. My sister was on her way to Sampaloc, Manila, where she was supposed to board a bus bound for our hometown in Alicia, Isabela. Unable to get a cab from our place in Pasig City, she took an FX taxi going to Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas Center, where she thought she had better chances of getting a cab, considering that taxis usually congregate in mall areas at any time of the day. Upon reaching Galleria, she noticed the long queue of commuters in the designated waiting area for taxicabs. Not wanting to waste any more time since she had a provincial trip to catch, she decided to just wait nearby.
A vacant yellow taxi did pass by not long after. She hailed it and, to her great relief, the driver, who was in his mid-forties and wearing a cap, agreed to bring her to Sampaloc, Manila, without much discussion as to the fare, which is usually the practice of many unscrupulous taxi drivers during rush hour. Preoccupied with the single nagging thought of arriving at the bus terminal on time, she boarded the taxi and settled at the back seat without bothering to check the body number or plate number of the taxi upon boarding.
On the way, the driver advised my sister to move to the driver side of the back seat purportedly because the right tire at the back was wiggling a bit. My sister did move a bit to the center. Upon reaching La Salle Greenhills, which is just a hundred or so meters away from EDSA cor. Ortigas Avenue, the driver suddenly stopped the taxi and, without any warning whatsoever, let inside two men who were in their mid-twenties. One seated himself beside the driver while the other sat beside her.
Although greatly surprised and alarmed by the sudden turn of event, my sister did not lose any second in trying to open the left passenger door. However, the door could not be opened as it was securely locked. Then, she heard one of the men telling her to be still and just obey their commands. She was told that unless she put up a resistance, they were not going to do her any harm. They were just there for the money supposedly because one of the crooks’ wife and son were in dire need of medical treatment.
Frightened for her own life, my sister could not do anything but to meekly accede to the demands of the felons. Her bag was thoroughly combed for any valuable items. When they found her two ATM cards inside, they forced her, by threat and intimidation, to divulge the PINs for both. She was also divested of her pair of earrings and college ring, which was a gift from our late father. Her cell phone was likewise taken away.
All the while, they were driving towards the general direction of Quezon City. She discovered this when she caught a glimpse of the GMA 7 building along Timog Avenue. They traversed EDSA and then entered East Avenue. Thereafter, they went into a side street, which was unknown to her since she is relatively unfamiliar with Quezon City. One of the criminals alighted when they got near a bank with an ATM ostensibly to withdraw from my sister’s ATM accounts, while the rest of them drove on for a while. After a couple of minutes, they went back to ferry the hold-upper, who withdrew money. They then again circled the area for some more minutes, perhaps in an attempt to befuddle and disorient my sister.
At around 9 p.m., my sister was finally dropped off in a dark corner in the Quezon City Elliptical Circle, near the Department of Agriculture, but not after she was threatened not to look back, otherwise they would return and do her harm. The criminals did have a soft heart (?) to leave her some money to pay for her fare home.
While we are thankful that nothing untoward happened to my sister, we hope that law enforcers shall arrest the culprits soon to stop them from further perpetrating their dastardly crime on innocent people.
By the way, when I recounted the incident to an officemate, I was told that she did receive an e-mail message awhile back, containing an account of a young professional of his experience of being held up in a similar fashion also in Ortigas Center. I believe that the perpetrators are one and the same. I hope most fervently that the hands of justice would soon catch on them. Let it be shown that crime does not pay in our society!
Finally, my advice to fellow commuters: Always be vigilant and on guard. Try to spend some minutes memorizing or much better, jotting down the body marking as well as the plate number of the taxi one is boarding. These pieces of information shall be of great help to our law enforcers should one find himself or herself in the same distressing situation.
posted by dr. a.n. reb at
2:03 PM
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