Minor stabs Speed Personnel

CEBU, Philippines - A 15-year-old ambulant vendor was apprehended after trying to stab a member of the Squatters Prevention Encroachment and Elimination Division (SPEED) yesterday afternoon.

A team from SPEED went to the vicinity of a mall along Natalio Bacalso Avenue at past 2 p.m. yesterday and confiscated the goods of some vendors in the area.

This irked the minor, who stabbed Ramil Sario, 23, a member of SPEED and was among those who confiscated the goods of some vendors at the roadside.

The team had confiscated bottles of mineral water and other drinks being sold by the minor.

Noel Artes, SPEED chief, explained they were just acting on the report of the City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) that street vendors in the area are causing heavy traffic.

The suspect pulled out an ice pick and tried to stab Sario, who was able to evade the attack while his companions grabbed and controlled the minor.

Artes said the suspect was one of the 30 rugby boys they apprehended the other week, but the suspect eventually escaped.

After the commotion, the SPEED took the minor and the confiscated items to their satellite office at Junquera St. in Barangay Kamagayan.

They then took the minor to the Cebu City Medical Center so they could get a certification that they did not hurt him.

The SPEED took the suspect to the Carbon Police Station.

But because of the Juvenile Justice Law, the police cannot detain minors, so the Carbon police is expected to turn him over to the social welfare department or the officials of the barangay where he lives. (FREEMAN)