OPERATIVES of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) arrested a businessman last Saturday for faking a P68.24 million robbery at his car trading company.
QCPD Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) chief Maj. Don Don Llapitan named the suspect as Bernard Chua, owner of the BC Cars Trading and Auto Services in Barangay Toro, Project 8, Quezon City.
Chua reported to the QCPD Station 6 that six suspects armed with rifles and clad in black clothes barged into his office at 4 a.m. last Saturday. He said the suspects used a sports utility vehicle, two vans and two motorcycles in the robbery.
Chua said the robbers fled with P68.3 million, including P22.5 million in cash, five watches worth P12.8 million, diamonds worth P10 million, and six handguns worth P343,000.
CIDU investigators conducted a probe that “revealed that no incident transpired as reported (by Chua),” the QCPD said in a statement.
“All the witnesses who are the employees of the suspect stated that they were forced by the latter to make fabricated facts to make it appear that indeed a robbery happened,” the QCPD said.
Chua was subsequently arrested at 2:45 p.m. Saturday by the police “with the information at hand.”
The QCPD said Chua will be charged for violation of Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code (false testimony in other cases and perjury in solemn affirmation) before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.
QCPD director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan commended the CIDU operatives for their “hard work and dedication” in the conduct of a comprehensive investigation that uncovered the facts of the incident that led to Chua’s arrest.
“I hope this serves as a warning to the public that lying, especially reporting a crime that did not actually happen or made up, is against the law and punishable by imprisonment,” said Maranan.
