Man loses car due to poor memory

A man who keeps forgetting where he parked his car has for the second time reported a car theft to the police, another false alarm.

“It was an honest mistake,” said Inspector Angelo Nicolas, chief of the Anti-Carnapping Section (ANCAR) of the Quezon City Police District.

Nicolas said they cannot charge 50-year-old Marcelino Severiano for reporting a false crime.

“If he lied about it to collect insurance claims, he would be liable for perjury... But in this case, I think it was just an honest mistake (on Severiano’s part). Maybe he just forgot where he parked his car,” Nicolas remarked.

Senior Police Officer 2 Norman Suva said Severiano went to the ANCAR on Saturday night to report his red Honda CRV (WRH-604) was stolen.

Suva described Severiano as a “familiar-looking man” who reported his car was missing after he left it at the corner of D. Tuazon and Retiro Streets in Barangay Sto. Domingo between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. last Thursday.

Severiano, a resident of Barangay Holy Spirit, claimed he momentarily left the vehicle to buy food at a nearby fastfood store.

When he came back, Severiano claimed, his car was missing where he supposedly left it.

“And so we asked him to come back and bring the necessary documents,” Suva said.

He said they immediately dispatched a team that night to verify any reported car theft incident in the area.

“When our team went there, we saw the vehicle parked in front of a restaurant at a portion of nearby Banawe Avenue,” Suva said.

“When our men asked the security guard at the restaurant, he said a man, who appeared to be its owner, left the vehicle earlier.”

Suva then recalled Severiano was the same man who earlier reported his car was stolen.

When he checked the files, Suva found out Severiano was the subject of a complaint that ANCAR handled sometime in November last year.

Suva said Severiano reported his red Mitsubishi Adventure had been stolen while it was parked in front of a fastfood chain behind the Quezon City Hall.

“The bystanders said that its owner, who appeared to be drunk, hurriedly got off the vehicle and did not bother that the vehicle was improperly parked,” Suva said.

The ANCAR towed Severiano’s van and brought it to the police station.

Severiano then appeared before policemen claiming his Mitsubishi Adventure van was stolen. To his surprise, he saw the van was already there at police headquarters.

On the “missing” Honda CRV, Suva said Severiano did not bother to come back to follow up his complaint.

As of yesterday, Suva admitted he still does not know if Severiano recovered his missing vehicle or just parked it somewhere again like what happened before.