A Universal Message

Or why it only takes a few seconds to reconsider our safety at all times... Thanks to deepblue of philMUG for the link.

MANILA's "LAPTOP GANG"

or, why you should NOT leave your valuables in your car.

Now, it makes the network news, finally, and a name of the thieves to boot: the LAPTOP GANG. Unlike your motorcycle gang who are bike enthusiasts, Manila's Laptop Gang are not laptop owners, but rob owners of their valuables, foremost of which are laptops, music players and cellphones. As I've mentioned, these thieves couldn't careless about your state-of-the-art car audio set-up or even your car (probably too complicated to dismantle in the former, too traceable in the latter). In the video below, the thieves left a souvenir behind in the victim's car: traces of blood from an apparent injury. So, they are only human, too. If we had a DNA database, this, and other crimes, would somehow have some kind of a lead. Otherwise, the authorities better impose stricter policies on pawnshops (the BSP), have a better database of known robbers (PNP), or the owners better not leave vualuables in the car (Now tell me please, on top of everything else, why leave jewelry in the car, for heaven's sake? Geez!)

(Video below is courtesy of GMA7's 24Oras, broadcast on Aug. 2, 2007. The original can be found here)


On print, an archived clip: Manila Times' Fil-Australian loses laptop to snatcher