Caught in cabinet!: 'Akyat-bahay' man nabbed after roof entry
By Trixee Rosel
A suspected “akyat-bahay” burglar was arrested after Quezon City police found him hiding inside a storage cabinet, following a roof entry at an ancestral home in Barangay Kaligayahan.
On April 24, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) District Mobile Force Battalion (DMFB) officers rushed to North Olympus after receiving reports that a home had been forcibly entered and ransacked while its owner was abroad.
At around 2:30 p.m., a representative of the homeowner arrived to inspect the property and found the main door already open, prompting further inspection that revealed scattered belongings inside the living room, indicating a burglary.
Responding police, who were conducting visibility operations near a border control point, immediately proceeded to the area and conducted an ocular inspection.
They later found that the suspect gained entry by breaking through the roof.
During a thorough search of the house, operatives discovered the suspect hiding inside a closed storage cabinet. He did not resist arrest.
Recovered from him were a gold necklace with pendant valued at ₱25,000, a silver necklace with ladybug pendant worth ₱15,000, a gold bracelet worth ₱20,000, a black pouch bag, a professional driver’s license, a Union Visa card bearing his name, a pair of pliers, and a metal hacksaw.
The suspect, identified only as alias “Derrick,” 29, a resident of Barangay Kaligayahan, Quezon City, will face robbery (akyat-bahay) charges before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.
QCPD director Police Brig. Gen. Randy Glenn Silvio said the arrest underscores the importance of sustained police visibility in preventing burglary incidents and urged the public to immediately report suspicious activities to authorities.