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MANILA, Philippines- A netizen shared her ordeal while riding a taxi from Novaliches, Quezon City to Las Pinas on January 20 at 2 am.
In her facebook account, Nahida Sahtout accused a certain taxi driver of using chemical spray to victimise her and her sister. She also suspected that several police officers from Mandaluyong Police Station were accomplices in the modus operandi.
According to Sahtout, she and her sister sensed something unusual with the taxi driver when they noticed him eating candy and repeatedly drinking water. When they felt that the taxi was moving unsteadily, her sister asked the driver if he was sleepy.
To which the driver replied: “Oo maam nahihilo ako sa antok pwede ba nating ihinto sa gilid magpupunas lang ako ng basang towel sa mukha?” (Yes ma’am, I feel dizzy because of sleepiness. Can I stop the car at the edge so I can put wet towel on my face?)
They asked him to stop the cab when they see a 7-Eleven store. However, when they noticed that the driver was acting strangely, she and her sister asked the driver to pull over the taxi immediately.
Sahtout and her sister smelled a strong chemical odor right after the cab pulled over.
The Escape
After smelling the offensive odor, her sister ordered her to open the window and cover her nose. Still, the driver didn’t stop the taxi. Sahtout opened the taxi’s door to catch the people’s attention. When they passed a crowded place, Sathout and her sister went out of the taxi even if it was still slightly moving. The driver then stopped the cab and even hit the sidewalk. It was then that the people noticed that the driver was indeed feeling dizzy.
“Yung nafeel nmin ng ate super natuyo yung dila namin pati lalamunan at sobrang pait ng lasa.nkakasikip ng dibdib..Lumapit samin ung mga tao.Nilapitan ng iba ung driver para hindi makatakbo. Kinwento namin yung nangyari sa mga tao then may isang lalaki na inamoy ung loob ng taxi. Sinabi niyang may matapang nga na ibang amoy.”
Getting Help From the Police
One woman present at the area called the Mandaluyong Police Station,but it took the two police officers some time to arrive at the scene. They inspected the taxi as well as the driver but Sahtout observed that they didn’t conduct the inspection throughly.
To their dismay, the police officers just told them that they didn’t find any evidence on the driver and the taxi. The sisters insisted that they saw the driver opening the window at one point so it was possible that he threw the chemical spray at that moment.
The police officers allowed the driver to leave, while they were escorted to a place where they can get a new cab.
The Alleged Modus Operandi
After hearing about their ordeal, the driver of the new cab they rode informed them about an alleged modus operandi involving several cab drivers and police officers from Mandaluyong Police Station.
“Ang mga driver na modus na yan kaya sa part na ng Mandaluyong niya ginawa yun dahil may kapit na ung driver na yun sa Mandaluyong police station.. Kasabwat din nila ang mga pulis kaya ipapalabas na walang evidence. At kung may mabiktima man mkkipag share ang pulis sa driver kung ano man ang mga nakuha nito,” Sarthout shared in her Facebook post.
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