5 gay Pinoys in Shanghai plead guilty to robbery
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/06/2009 8:20 PM
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SHANGHAI, China - Four of five arrested Filipino men accused of drugging and then robbing foreign men they offered with sexual services have pleaded guilty, an online news provider reporter.
In a report published on October 28, 2009 by the ShanghaiDaily.com, it named the suspects as Roman Cristobal, Randell Dabalus, Marc Garcia, Erecson Malaque, and Rizal Dela Cruz.
Only Dela Cruz, the alleged leader of the group, did not plead guilty.
"A verdict was not announced after the one-day hearing. The punishment for robbery ranges from three years to death, depending on what happened to the victims and the value of the stolen goods," the online article written by Xu Fang reported.
The five faced Shanghai's No. 1 Intermediate People's Court last month for victimizing three men from December 2008 to February 2009.
The online news added that prosecutors said the group robbed their victims of items valued estimated to value more than 150,000 yuan (US$21,961).
The modus operandi of the group was to offer sex to unsuspecting male victims, drug them with sedatives, and then rob them of their valuables, including credit cards.
They forged the signatures on stolen credit cards to buy things from shops.
The court also heard that the men went to Shanghai early last year to make a living by offering sexual services.
On March 2, authorities nabbed Garcia while he was shopping at a cosmetics store. Garcia led police to the rest of the members of the group, the news added.
A Filipino-based in Shanghai provided abs-cbnNEWS.com with the news clipping about the court trial of the five suspects.
“Sana po matuto na sila. Sa dami po naming Pinoy na working dito, and we are trying our best to do good in our own respective fields, pero sa mga Filipino na trying to ruin our reputation, it's not fair siguro po sa amin,” the OFW said in a comment he sent through feedback@abs-cbnnews.com.
“Hope these people will learn and try to earn a living sa magandang paraan. Guilty or not guilty, nakakahiya pa rin po rito na nasa headline ka ng local newspaper,” the reader said.
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