By Analou de Vera
Two criminology students were arrested by police after they allegedly snatched the cellphone of a 15-year-old girl in Sta. Cruz, Manila, Tuesday afternoon.
Police identified the suspects as Jerickson Sajul, 20, and Helmer Caspe, 19, both students of University of Manila.
The students are now detained at the Sta. Cruz Police Station facing charges of robbery-snatching in relation to Republic Act 7610 or Anti-Child Abuse Law.
Case investigator PO1 Debby Ann Respicio said that the female student was waiting for a jeepney along Legarda Street when the two suspects, onboard a motorcycle, appeared and suddenly grabbed her Oppo A37F phone worth P7,000 around 4:30 p.m.
The teenager immediately reported the incident to the nearby police station. After reviewing the closed circuit television footage on the area, members of Barbosa Police Community Precinct conducted a follow-up operation that led to the arrest of the two criminology students.
Sajul reportedly admitted the crime and explained that he only did it for his ailing child and to be able to pay his tuition fee.
Caspe, meanwhile, said that he had no idea on what Sajul did as he was only driving the motorcycle.
