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A TV Patrol report revealed that two pickpockets named Raffy Boy de Dios and Richard Mendoza were arrested after they targeted a pregnant woman on a bus on Tuesday morning, Apr 21.

According to Marineth Sumague, who is three months pregnant, she was on a bus that was going through EDSA when a man, who was sitting behind her, told her there was a stain on the back of her blouse. She could not see the stain, so she handed a piece of tissue to the man and said, “Kuya, pwedeng bang pakipunasan? ‘Di ko kasi makita.”

Sumague noticed that the man grew uneasy when he told her he didn’t really know how to get the stain off her blouse. Suddenly, he said that it was time for him to get off the bus.

Along with other passengers, the man moved to get off the bus with two other guys who appeared to be his companions. One of the men managed to escape off the bus.

Before the two other men could get off, the bus conductor told Sumague, “Ma’am habulin mo!” he then gestured to Sumague’s bag. She then realized her cellphone was gone.

The bus driver, who was alerted by the bus conductor about what had happened, immediately closed the doors of the bus and stopped at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) office along EDSA and Orense Street so Sumague could seek assistance.

De Dios and Mendoza confessed to the crime. However, they said their companion had run off with Sumague’s cellphone. They admitted to using siopao sauce to put a stain on Sumague’s blouse.

Police later discovered that De Dios and Mendoza were repeat offenders.

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