Cops tell public to ‘chill’ while shopping; woman in throwing incident in mall posts bail

Medelina Berja Yamazaki, 33, is now detained at the Mabolo Police sub-station in Barangay Hipodromo, Cebu City after a complaint for physical injury was lodged against her for throwing a humidifier at a promodiser inside a mall in Cebu City on Dec. 8, 2019. | CDND Photo/ Alven Marie A. Timtim

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Mabolo Police are encouraging the public to “chill” while shopping this Christmas season especially since people are expected to flock to the malls and marketplaces this month.

Police Major Dindo Juanito Alaras, Mabolo Police Station commander,  which covers the most malls and establishments in the city, as the case continues against a woman who assaulted and berated a promodiser in a mall on December 7, 2019, which was caught on camera and went viral as the video was posted online.

The suspect, Medelina Yamazaki, has posted bail on Friday morning, December 13, 2019, after the victim, Jennifer Fabillar, filed charges of physical injuries against her in court.

Yamazaki was also declared “unfit to stand trial” by a government-hired psychiatrist after the conduct of psychiatric evaluation at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center on Thursday, December 12, 2019.

According to Yamazaki’s family, she suffered post-partum depression after giving birth to her child, and they said she was also allegedly maltreated when she was still young.

Fabillar already said in previous statements that she would push through with the case.

Read more: Woman, who threw humidifier at a promodiser, claims she was humiliated first

For Alaras, such an incident could have been prevented if customers and salespeople would remain calm despite tensions in the shop.

He encouraged customers to complain to a higher authority, such as the shop’s manager or mall management if they had experienced maltreatment by a salesperson or any personnel.

As for vendors or salespeople, he said, if they feel that the customer was already too tensed and was on the verge of going violent, they should immediately call for security and the police.

“Gamay ra gyod unta ning butanga nya nidako na kay naghinobra ang mga gipangbati (This conflict should have been small, but it became huge because both parties became too emotional),” said Alaras.

Alaras said he hoped that the public would carry with them the joy of Christmas during shopping and refuse to partake in small arguments so these would not become heated.

He also reminded the public to be vigilant and report to the police any untoward incidents such as pickpocketing, robbery, and other street crimes, which were expected to be rampant this holiday season./dbs