Police patrol scares robbers

LAGUNA, Philippines – Police foiled an attempt by at least five men to rob a branch of Western Union in Pagsanjan town past midnight yesterday, authorities said.

Chief Inspector Luis Perez, Pagsanjan police chief, said the robbers gained entry by destroying the back wall using a hammer.

Perez said the robbers, however, were alarmed when they heard the siren of a police patrol car and saw lawmen conducting a routine checkpoint near a bridge in Poblacion Uno.

Although they had ransacked the place, the robbers decided to abort their plan and escaped on foot, Perez said. The management said all the money in the vault was intact.