MANILA, Philippines - A 14-year-old boy accused of being a member of a “jumper gang” was thrown into the Navotas river after he reportedly snatched the necklace of a truck helper along C-3 Road Thursday afternoon.
Members of a jumper gang leap onto passing trucks and either take some of the trucks’ cargo or rob their occupants.
City police chief Senior Superintendent Florendo Quibuyen said the boy, a resident of Dagat-Dagatan, Caloocan City, was brought to the hospital yesterday.
According to Police Officer 3 Arlene Alvero, officer-in-charge of the station’s women and children’s protection desk, the boy was “still in shock” and could not narrate what happened to him.
Alvero said the occupants of a six-wheeler cargo truck (RKC-958) tossed the boy into the river as they passed the C-4 Road Bridge in Barangay Bagong Bayan North at around 3:35 p.m.
The boy survived the fall and swam to the bank of the river, where bystanders came to his aid. The boy and his family sought police help.
At around noon yesterday, Quibuyen’s men were able to track down the truck in Barangay Bagong Bayan North through footage taken by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera installed along C-4 Road.
“The truck’s license plate was captured on CCTV,” Quibuyen told The STAR.
Truck driver Leandro Dizon, 34, and helpers Orlando Calixtro, 21, and Angelo Calubiran, 23, were arrested.
According to Calixtro, their vehicle was stuck in traffic along C-3 Road in Caloocan City at around 3 p.m. when three boys climbed the passenger side of the truck, reached in through the open window and grabbed his silver necklace worth P3,000.
He said he was able to catch one of the boys, drag him into the truck and throw him off the bridge along C-4 Road. Calixtro said his two companions had nothing to do with his actions.
Police Officer 3 Belany Dizon, however, said that despite Calixtro’s admission, the three of them will be charged with frustrated murder.
“Calixtro’s companions could have prevented him from doing the crime, but according to the boy they even urged Calixtro to hurt him,” Dizon said.