Thief steals unlocked cab while driver pees

While answering the call of nature, a taxi driver lost his cab, earnings, and cell phone along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Quezon City before dawn on Monday. The taxi driver, identified as Efren Mendoza, said he was using a urinal along EDSA when unidentified men took off with his cab. "Umihi ako sa urinal sa may Kaingin road (corner EDSA). Nang umiihi ako may nakita akong tumayo ang mama. Pagpunta ko sumakay siya, di ko na naabutan," he said in an interview on dzBB radio. He said the thief also took his earnings, driver's license and mobile phone, which were inside his cab ("Mama" taxi, plate number TXJ-896). Like many drivers, Mendoza did not bother to lock his vehicle during his pee stop. Monday's incident came a day after two armed men robbed a taxi driver and took his cab in Pasig City early on Sunday morning. The men had flagged down the taxi (with plate number TYM-575) in Ermita, Manila but declared a holdup as the taxi was cruising at C-5 Flyover in Barangay Ugong in Pasig, radio dzBB’s Glen Juego reported. The men, allegedly armed with a jackknife and a handgun, also took the taxi driver’s P4,100 earnings, the report said. The robbers reportedly told the driver to get off the taxi before speeding off with the cab, the report said. - VVP/HS, GMA News