Ex-cop caught stealing motorbike

MANILA, Philippines - A dismissed policeman, reportedly responsible for a number of motorcycle thefts in Metro Manila, was arrested Tuesday afternoon as he was about to drive off with a motorcycle allegedly stolen from a university parking lot in Ermita, Manila.

Former Police Officer 3 Guillermo Sartin, 45, of Gagalangin, Tondo, matched the description of the suspect furnished by several victims, Senior Inspector Randy Maluyo, chief of the Manila Police District (MPD) anti-carjacking section, told The STAR.

Sartin was previously assigned at the Ermita police station before he was dropped from the rolls in December 2008 for being absent without official leave, according to Maluyo.

In his report to MPD director Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, Maluyo said motorcycle owner Mon Tupas and a companion grabbed Sartin as he was about to drive off with Tupas’ Suzuki motorcycle parked in front of the Universidad de Manila. They brought him to the Manila Police District headquarters, where Sartin said he is a policeman assigned to the National Capital Region Police Office’s Regional Police Headquarters Accounting Office, the holding center for Metro Manila police officers with administrative cases.

A witness identified Sartin as the one who stole the motorcycle of PO3 Emmanuel Reyes last Jan. 29 while parked in front of the Universidad de Manila.

Charges have been filed against Sartin. Maluyo called on other car theft victims to step forward and identify Sartin.    – Nestor Etolle