'Batingting' may have cost cabbie his life

MANILA, Philippines -  A taxi driver who was shot and stabbed to death in Quezon City Saturday could have been killed after his own passengers caught him messing with the taxi’s fare meter.

Senior Police Officer 2 Jun Mortel said another taxi driver they asked to examine the cab (TXL-457) driven by Carlito Roncales, 54, said a “batingting” was found attached to the fare meter. The gadget makes the fare meter function faster, significantly increasing the fare a passenger has to pay.

Mortel said the “batingting” angle could explain why Roncales was killed without being robbed, as is often the case.

He said Roncales was still clutching a P100 bill when police found his body at the corner of 12th and Boni Serrano Avenues in Barangay Socorro with the engine of his taxi still running.

Mortel said the fare meter stopped at P90, which suggests that he may have picked up the passengers who killed him only five to six kilometers from the crime scene.

Mortel said the passengers probably confronted Roncales about how fast the fare meter was running and thereafter killed him. They later escaped.

He said a “batingting” is usually concealed in the car stereo, the accelerator pedal, and the like.