Noted hospital thief caught

CEBU, Philippines - Another hospital thief was arrested after he was caught by his victim stealing her cellular phone inside Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City last Tuesday.

Arrested was Joseph Rosario, 36, of Barangay Mantuyong, Mandaue City. He is allegedly a noted thief who usually strikes inside VSMMC and Chong Hua Hospital.

Senior Inspector Rolito Supatan, chief of Theft and Robbery Section, said Rosario has also victimized some in a few hospitals in Mandaue City.

As a modus operandi, Rosario would allegedly pretend as a visitor of a patient to get inside the hospital. He would then find a vacant bed inside wards and would stay there until he spots unattended gadgets of patients or their visitors.

Last Tuesday, at around 5 p.m., victim Chymbee Sherman, 33, was attending to her child when she went to the comfort room to answer the call of nature.

However, when she went back inside the ward, she caught Rosario in the act of stealing her cellular phone and immediately ran outside.

She tried to catch him and asked help from other people. Reportedly, bystanders outside the hospital were able to get hold of Rosario until the police arrived.

Supatan said they have retrieved Sherman’s phone from the suspect and further found a few SIM cards inside his wallet.

They tried to insert the SIM cards to a mobile phone and eventually found out that those were owned by Rosario’s previous victims.

Supatan said they were able to contact three victims and encouraged them to file a case against Rosario. Two of the victims were reportedly victimized by Rosario in Chong Hua Hospital while other one in a hospital in Mandaue City.

The suspect, in an interview, admitted being involved in thievery but said he has done it for three times only.

He said he was only forced to steal because of his aunt who is sick and needs maintenance for her medication.

Rosario said he just returned all the items he stole in the hope that the victims will have mercy on him and will not continue in filing charges against him.

“Nagbag-o na ko. Pasayloa tawn ko ma’am, malooy mo,” he alleged, adding that he would help the police in identifying other noted robbers as long as he will not be jailed.

However, Supatan said some of the victims are willing to file charges against the suspect for theft.

On October 13, 32-year-old Albert Tumagna was also arrested after he tried to encash a check he allegedly stole from Eugene Abello inside Chong Hua Hospital. — (FREEMAN)