The stolen bicycle and chainsaw earlier alleged to have been taken by a Criminology student in Lapu-Lapu City were recovered by personnel of Police Station 4 from a resident of Barangay Marigondon.

The 20-year-old suspect did not implicate the Criminology student in the theft, according to Police Lt. Col. Christian Torres, spokesperson of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Station.

“Initially wala man siya mo-declare nga kaila sila. Dili daw sila kaila. As alleged, walay kalambigitan ang student, siya ra kuno,” Lt. Col. Torres said.

The loss of properties from a house where the Criminology student is a caretaker led to the alleged maltreatment of two policemen upon the student on October 4, 2024.

When the loss of the items was reported at the police station, the student-caretaker was instead accused purportedly of the crime. He was beaten up and slapped allegedly to own up to the theft.

The student cried foul when he was implicated in the thievery and coerced reportedly to own up.

The student, in an interview, wept and vowed to drop his college course, saying he would not want to pursue a career where colleagues could be that "walay ayo” (no good or vicious) and "abusado" (abusive).

However, it was learned that the student and his family have not filed yet a case against the alleged erring policemen, as of this writing. 

To recall, a post by a netizen who claimed to be an uncle of the victim, went viral. It mentioned of burglars who sneaked in a house where the Criminology student (his nephew) works as a caretaker.

But in an investigation conducted by the police it appeared as though his nephew was accused of the burglary.

When the Criminology student was interrogated by the police, he denied vehemently all accusations.

The denial irked reportedly the cops who started beating him up.

The Criminology student was released later.

It was the netizen who called on the attention of Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan to act on the incident.

Police Colonel Dyan Agustin, officer in charge of Lapu-Lapu City Police Office, said that she has directed the Criminal Investigation and Detective Management Unit to identify the policemen involved in the incident.

Police Col. Agustin said that she read the post on social media and that she found basis to have the incident investigated.

Agustin has vowed of an impartial investigation.