Forex shop owner slain in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - Four men ambushed and killed a Batangas-based foreign exchange shop owner after he exchanged foreign currency worth P3.8 million at a shop in Ermita, Manila Friday night.

Dr. Adonis Peren, a dentist who also operated a foreign exchange business in Lemery, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Ospital ng Maynila from gunshot wounds in different parts of the body.

Investigators at the Manila Police District (MPD) said Peren, his wife and 11-year-old son came from trading with the owner of the Nikko Money Changer along Mabini street when they were waylaid along San Marcelino street.

The Perens often came to Manila to trade with Hariat Cruz, proprietor of Nikko Money Changer, because she offers better rates, police said.

On Friday, the Perens arrived at around 3 p.m. because of a prearranged transaction with Cruz amounting to P3.8 million. They parked their car at a nearby mall and walked to Cruz’s shop. Peren’s wife carried a shoulder bag that contained the money.

The Perens were reportedly told by Cruz to take a stroll while she prepared the money and promised to call them on their cell phone once it was ready. When they did not receive any call, they went back to Cruz’s shop at around 7:30 p.m. and finished the transaction.

The Perens then went back to their car and headed for home, but it was while they were traversing San Marcelino street that four men on two motorcycles started shooting at the tires of the Perens’ vehicle.

Even though two of the car’s tires were flat, Peren managed to cross Quirino Avenue but the robbers ganged up on him when he was stuck in traffic. His wife managed to jump out of the vehicle, taking along her bag with the P3.8 million but leaving their son behind.

The robbers took Peren’s bag containing P1 million, two credit cards with a P300,000 credit limit, and a high-end cell phone. They left the boy unharmed and sped off toward San Andres.

Investigators said the attack was caught on video by a surveillance camera.