More victims surface to identify ‘swindler’

More people have surfaced and positively identified the arrested alleged notorious swindler as the one who victimized them in the past months.

This developed as additional complainants have been added to the ones previously filed by four victims against 27-year-old Michael Topas, a Bacolod City native who is presently residing along Panganiban Street in barangay Pahina-Central.

Among those who positively identified Topas is the 15-year-old househelp of Leonila Dosado, a teacher at a private school in Basak. The girl told The Freeman that the swindling incident happened minutes after Dosado left in the afternoon of September 22.

According to the girl, Topas quickly went inside the house and pretended to be looking for his “Tita Leonila.” But the girl said she became suspicious of Topas’ actions, prompting her to ask him to get out.

But the suspect allegedly insisted to stay inside and pretended to be calling the houseowner through his cell phone. The girl heard the suspect say, “Tita, di man ko pasudlon sa imong katabang,” over his cell phone.

The girl said the suspect made it sure that she overheard everything he said to her employer, as if trying to mean that Dosado has allowed him to stay in the house.

Out of fear, the girl went inside her room but had discovered later that the suspect took their television set, a digital videodisc player, a center table, a collection of compact discs, an electric fan and a folding bed.

The suspect allegedly loaded everything he took from the house into a waiting vehicle.

PO3 Jeffrey Diola said once he gets the trust of the owner’s househelp and allowed to get inside the house, the suspect would pretend to be calling the househelp’s employer. But unknown to the househelp, the suspect would cut off the telephone line during the conversation.

The suspect would then free to roam the house and take whatever valuables secretly. Aside from Dimaano, the suspect had also reportedly victimized several others.

When the girl was led to the detention cell, she positively identified the suspect.

Another victim was 45-year old Remy Demol, a resident of Molave Street in barangay Lahug. Demol told The Freeman that the suspect arrived at their house and told them that he is the nephew of Mr. Lim, the owner of the house they are occupying.

Topas reportedly told them that he had just arrived from Canada with a package for his uncle that he left in Mandaue City.

The suspect then asked Demol to call Mr. Lim and while Demol was talking on her cell phone, Topas reportedly asked her to let him talk to his “uncle.”

Moments later, Topas asked Demol to lend him her LG cell phone worth P8,000 as he would need it to communicate with his “uncle” in picking up the package in Mandaue City.

To make it more convincing, he asked Demol to let her 17-year-old son accompany him to Mandaue City.

But to her surprise, Demol said her son came back hours later and asked her to pay the P250 fare for the taxicab because Topas never came back after asking him to stay in the vehicle while he checked on the package.

Yesterday, Demol furiously pointed her fingers to Topas inside the detention cell of the Cebu City Police Office as the one who swindled her of her cell phone and demanded it back.

Diola said there are other victims from Talisay City and Mandaue City who had called up their office and positively identified Topas through his pictures published in the newspapers.

Among Topas’ victims is a retired police colonel who reportedly lost his jewelry to the suspect last week.

Topas denied all the accusations, claiming that he is a victim of mistaken identity. He even threatened to file complaints against Diola. —Edwin Ian Melecio/LPM