Gang men kill Tsinoy over firecrackers

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino-Chinese trader was stabbed dead by alleged members of a street gang he had earlier asked to stop lighting firecrackers in Sta. Cruz, Manila hours yesterday.

James Tan, 39, of Novaliches, was reportedly staying at the Day Dream Lodge along Lope de Vega street in Sta. Cruz for the past two weeks.

At around 6 a.m. yesterday, Tan went to adjacent Day Dream Restaurant and drank four bottles of beer. While drinking, Tan reportedly castigated a group of men at a nearby table who had been lighting firecrackers.

According to a witness, two of the men followed Tan when he went back to the lodging inn. Shortly after, Tan was found with a lone stab wound in the chest at the lobby of the inn. He was declared dead on arrival at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center.

Senior Police Officer 2 Paul Dennis Javier said the witness described the men as in their early 20s and sporting dyed hair.

Javier said a police team is hot on trail of the suspects, who reportedly belong to a street gang.   – Nestor Etolle