CEBU CITY – A Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman in Tuburan town, Cebu was arrested after he was caught stealing cash in the mayor’s office.
The theft was caught on CCTV (closed-circuit television), police said.
MATTHEW John Barangan, the 21-year-old SK chairman of Barangay Bakyawan, Tuburan, Cebu, is brought to a police station with the cash that was what left from the P35,000 that he allegedly stole. (Contributed photo)
Police identified the suspect as Matthew John Barangan, the 21-year-old SK chairman of Barangay Bakyawan.
Police said the incident happened on Thursday afternoon, September 26, when the suspect visited the office of Tuburan Mayor Aljun Diamante.
While in the office, Barangan was entertained by Steve Cesar Salipot, the executive assistant of Diamante.
Salipot went out of the office for a while and left a bag containing P35,000 on top of a table, police said.
Police Lt. Col. Glenn Hife, chief of the Tuburan Police Station, said Barangan had left when Salipot discovered that the cash inside the bag was already missing upon his return
Salipot reported the theft to the police.
Hife said investigators reviewed the footage of the security camera and discovered that it was the SK chairman who took the cash from inside the bag.
Barangan was arrested in his home in a follow-up operation conducted by the police.
Police also recovered what was left from the stolen money amounting to P3,200.
The suspect admitted failing to resist the temptation and disclosed that he used some of the stolen money to shop, police said.