Japanese investor robbed in Makati condo

MANILA, Philippines - A Japanese investor, his interpreter and their secretary were hogtied and robbed by four armed men in their Makati City condominium on Saturday morning.

Akira Hishijima, 75; interpreter Takuo Yoshimoto, 74; and Cherrie Cabaccan, 59, were working in their 30th-floor unit at the BSA Tower on Legaspi street when the robbers introduced themselves as “clients,” according to Police Officer 3 Jemcel Acosta.

When Hishijima inquired further, one of the four declared a robbery while the other robbers hogtied and gagged the victims. The robbers then locked the victims in the bathroom while they ransacked the condominium unit. Police said the victims lost P100,000, jewelry and electronic gadgets.

Acosta said the victims were not beaten by any of the suspects, who were armed with knives.

The four were allegedly allowed by security guards to go up to Hishijima’s unit after posing as visitors. They jotted down their names in the guard’s logbook as Victor Riviero, Victor Ceva, Michael dela Cruz, and Jimmy Kinta.

Acosta said the incident did not create a commotion and the four left the building casually. He added that there is no surveillance camera in the building.