A taxi cab driver lands in jail after a 19-year-old transgender woman accused him of forcing her to engage in a sexual act inside his vehicle at past 6 a.m. on Tuesday, December 3. | CDN Photo/ Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A taxi driver in Cebu City is facing criminal charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a passenger he found attractive on the early morning of Tuesday, December 3.
The suspect, alias “Benz” (not his real name), will be spending some time in jail after he was accused of attacking his passenger, who is a transgender woman.
Benz, 27, is a cab driver and a resident of Bgry. Butong, Pinamungajan, Cebu.
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How it happened
At around 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, the 19-year-old victim, alias “Marie,” got off work at a call center company in Brgy. Lahug.
She boarded the suspect’s cab to head home to Brgy. Guadalupe.
According to Marie, the cab driver introduced himself and began making flirtatious remarks from the moment she got inside the vehicle.
Marie said that the suspect told her that he was single and that he wanted to pursue her.
In response, Marie told him to stop and focus on driving.
Benz, however, allegedly continued to hold Marie’s hand and kissed her on the cheek.
Despite Marie’s resistance, the man allegedly forced her to touch his crotch and groped her breasts.
The cab driver then allegedly parked the vehicle at a secluded area in Sitio Sudlon, grabbed Marie’s head, and forced her to engage in a sexual act with him.
Marie, who was scared for her life as the man was much stronger, said that she could not do anything to stop it.
Taxi driver arrested by tanods
After the attack, Benz dropped off the victim near her home where she immediately asked some bystanders for help.
Marie said that she made sure to take note of the taxi’s plate number.
A few habal-habal drivers then chased after the erring driver while Marie went to the barangay hall to report the incident.
Shortly after, Benz was intercepted by barangay tanods and taken into custody. They then turned him over to police.
As of this writing, he is detained at the custodial facility of the Mabolo Police Station.
Rape through sexual assault charges
Mabolo police chief Police Major Romeo Caacoy said that the suspect would be facing rape through sexual assault charges.
Benz, however, denied the victim’s allegations in an interview with local media.
Instead of an attack, Benz claimed that the encounter was agreed upon by him and Marie.
Benz narrated that he asked Marie if he could kiss her, to which she allegedly gave him permission to do so.
He said that it was Marie who asked him to park at a dark area and she even touched his crotch first.
Benz also admitted that he gave in because of temptation as he found Marie pretty. The arrested suspect is married and has three children.
“First ko naibog. Gwapahan ko niya kay puti an,” he said.
(I was first attracted to her. I found her attractive because of her white complexion.)
“Natintal jud ko. Padung na ta ko garahe nya timingan man ko ana niya,” added Benz.
(I was really tempted. I was about to call it a day and head to the garage but I chanced upon her.)
Traumatized
Marie’s father, alias “Lando, told the media that his child had been traumatized by the incident.
He said that despite his desire to serve justice himself, he would let the law punish the suspect.
While he could accept Benz’ apology, Lando said that they would be determined to lodge a complaint against him to make sure that he would not be able to victimize others.
Meanwhile, police are conducting an investigation to check the suspect’s background. Benz denied being drunk or under the influence of illegal drugs at the time of the incident.
In order to prevent similar incidents, Caacoy advised other civilians to be alert when commuting and to make sure to inform someone else of the taxi cab’s plate number in case of emergencies.