Pawnshop loses P2.5M to burglars

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  â€” A pawnshop in this city last Sunday lost P2.5-million worth of jewelry pieces from suspected members of the Acetylene Gang, in a burglary that was only discovered Monday morning, police said.

Superintendent Santiago Rapiz, operations chief of the Bacolod City Police Office, yesterday said they were investigating two male suspects who burgled the Prenda Negrense Pawnshop and Jewelry Store located along Luzuriaga St. in the city proper.

Rapiz said the two Tagalog-speaking male suspects, checked in last Feb. 13 (Wednesday) at Ong Bun Pension House adjacent to the pawnshop, and checked out Feb. 17 (Sunday).

They reportedly occupied two rooms, one on the ground floor and another on the upper floor, where they created a hole to reach the rooftop of a hardware store where they bored another hole into the pawnshop, he said, adding that the contents of the pawnshop’s large vault were wiped out.

Rapiz said Acetylene Gang members have been known for using acetylene torch to create holes and open vaults. “We largely believe they are part of the Acetylene Gang. They were professionals and the robbery was well-planned,” he said.

The burglars destroyed the alarm system of the pawnshop but did not touch the closed circuit television camera, which the management of the pawnshop said had been non-functional for some time now. The management also told the police that the alarm went off that Sunday.

Rapiz said the tools used by the burglars were purchased in the city, based on the receipts found by police investigators at the crime scene.

The burglary was discovered by the employees of the Golden Hope Trading Inc. located beside the pawnshop, at about 8 a.m. Monday, when they saw the wall dividing the two establishments destroyed.

The pawnshop is owned by Johnny Chua, who was fatally shot while he was on board his vehicle at JV-Burgos Street in Bacolod on Oct. 25, 2012.  (FREEMAN)