Dutch national wounded after grappling with house robbers

CEBU, Philippines - A Dutch national was injured after he fought with robbers who barged into his residence in barangay Pit-os, Cebu City.

Police identified the victim as Michael De Ruiter, 48, who sustained stab wounds on his shoulder.

De Ruiter told police officers that past 12 noon Wednesday, his wife went out of their house but forgot to close the gate.

Later on, three unidentified men went inside the house but Ruiter noticed them.

The suspects were surprised to see Ruiter descending from the staircase and one of them approached the victim and poked a knife at him.

The suspect and Ruiter wrestled for a while but the victim was overpowered and fell on the ground and was stabbed on his shoulder.

The other two were quick to go to the second floor and took cash worth P28,000, ATM cards, passports and other important documents and fled away.

Senior Inspector Bienvenido Miral, Talamban Police Station chief, said that there is a possibility that the suspects are part of an organized group.

Miral said he could not say that the group targets foreigners to be their victims but disclosed that these persons are very daring and are determined to rob houses even in broad day light.

He is now asking assistance from the Cebu City Police Office-Theft and Robbery Section (TRS) to help resolve the case.

The victim was asked to view the TRS’ rogue’s gallery to check whether he could identify the suspects’ faces. — (FREEMAN)