By NESTOR ETOLLE
The Philippine Star
An off-duty fireman rescued his wife from a suspected thief who tried to hold her hostage to ward off a mob chasing him after he stole a bicycle in Tondo, Manila Friday.
Fire Officer 2 Purisimo Frederick Tabasa, liaison officer of the Bureau of Fire Protection, told The STAR that his wife Evangeline was able to call him and say that a man had barged into her office and is holding her against her will. Evangeline, a secretary of the KB Business Management Consultancy Office in Gagalangin, Tondo, was alone in the office when Geronimo Quinto, 30, rushed into the office and locked the door behind him.
Tabasa said he went to his wife’s office and convinced Quinto that he would help him escape from the mob outside. Once he was inside the office, he subdued the suspect and rescued his wife, who was unharmed.
At the police station, Quinto, a Commando Gang member, was identified by Maryann Sibug as one of two men who took her mountain bike worth P5,000 while it was parked in front of her residence.
Sibug told police she and her father ran after the thieves, who went in separate directions. Several bystanders and pedicab drivers also chased Quinto, but they did not barge into Evangeline’s office for fear that the suspect may harm her.
Balut police station chief Superintendent Rolando Miranda said his men recovered the stolen bicycle at the house of Quinto’s accomplice, identified as a certain "Jacky," who managed to escape. Miranda said Quinto is behind a series of thefts in Balut area. The police charged Quinto with theft, trespass to dwelling and coercion.