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Bacolod City, Philippines Tuesday, October 30, 2012
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Swindling raps
filed vs. con ma
BY LISA GAPAC

The Bacolod City police yesterday filed swindling charges against a Cameroonian, who had earlier pretended to be a Canadian and tricked his victims by telling them that he could triple the money they gave him, Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, city police director, said.

The case was filed at about 2 p.m. before the Bacolod City Prosecutor’s Office against Samuel Kamga alias Stephen Djonou, 34, who initially told the police that he is from Quebec, Canada.

De la Paz said that during the investigation Kamga admitted that he is from Cameroon, a country in west Central Africa, and his real name is Stephen Djonou.

At the time of his arrest at the Bacolod Pension Plaza where he was temporarily residing, the police also found IDs bearing his photos with five different names. Djonou had IDs of the government of Canada, United Nations, a Philippine driver’s license, an ATM bank card, and a Canadian driver’s license and used the names Tony Anderson, Winston Patrick, Samuel Smith, Stephan Djonou, and Samuel Kamga.

Djonou also admitted that he tricked his victims to pay his pension house rental for three days and that he had no money to pay it himself, De la Paz said.

De la Paz said the suspect befriended his two victims, whose names they withheld, whom he met on two occasions. On October 23, Djonou met the first victim at the Bacolod Pension Plaza and took from her P10,000 after he made her believe that he could triple the amount. Three days later, he was able to get P5,400 from the other victim whom he met at a bar at Rosario-Araneta streets, who happens to be a friend of the first victim.

When the victims began to doubt him they informed the police and an entrapment operation was planned with Supt. Santiago Rapiz, head of the Bacolod City Police Special Operations Group, acting as the husband of the first victim.

Rapiz said that, he and the complainants went to the rented place of Djonou and he demonstrated to them how to copy Philippine money using a solution made from a mixture of betadine and feminine wash.

Djonou pretended that he could transform paper into Philippine money by placing it with real money between cardboard and carbon paper and, sealing them together, injecting them with betadine and a feminine wash, and then submerging them in a pail of water, Rapiz said.

Then, by a trick of the hands, he would pull out the real money and make the victims believe that that was the reproduction, Rapiz added.

After witnessing the demonstration, Rapiz said he introduced himself as a policeman and arrested the suspect.

De la Paz also said the National Bureau of Investigation in Iloilo City is coordinating with them to determine if Djonou is part of an African group that has been swindling people and to find out if he is also involved in cyber crimes, counterfeiting, prostitution, and drugs.

The suspect is now detained at the Station 1 lock-up cell.*LTG

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