CCTV footage helps nab hospital thief

MANILA, Philippines - A footage taken by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera played a crucial role in catching a "slippery" thief victimizing patients confined at a government hospital in Manila before dawn Wednesday. Radio dzBB's Allan Gatus reported that security personnel at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC) tracked down and arrested suspect Renato Gutierrez at the hospital's fourth floor moments after he pulled off a theft in one of the rooms. Police said Gutierrez appeared to be a "veteran" of the trade, with the CCTV cameras catching him changing his clothes several times to elude capture. Initial investigation showed Gutierrez took a shoulder bag of Teresita Abangan containing P5,400 worth of medicines to be used for her husband's operation. The medicine included P1,400 worth of anesthesia and P4,000 worth of antibacterial medicines. Abangan said that when she noticed her bag was missing, she alerted security, who reviewed the CCTV tapes at the hospital's ears-eyes-nose-throat (EENT) ward. Security caught Gutierrez at the fourth floor and immediately turned him over to the Manila Police District Station 3. - GMANews.TV