Beware of pickpockets inside SM Southmall grocery

Once again, let us all be wary of people in our surroundings. Not to look at everyone as if they are out to steal our belongings but just enough to be careful with your prized items.

Thank you to the reader for sending this email to us to serve as warning to everyone who does their groceries:

I am sending this incident to you (happened to my wife just yesterday, 12-FEB-2012) and hoping you will publish it in the alabang bulletin website for all people to know and avoid becoming another victim of pick-pockets/criminals roaming freely inside SM Southmall.  I am currently out of the country and this is my wife’s email to me:
 
“at around 2:30 pm inside southmall supermarket along the ailes of the grocery items, while i’m pushing my grocery cart away from one grocery stand (cabinets) suddenly two women infront of me with their carts too, blocked me on each side, i told the other girl on my right to move forward so i can pass, instead she helped me passed without knowing that somebody at my back opened and picked already my wallet. I didn’t notice that my bag was opened and my wallet wasn’t there anymore until the time i have to pay the groceries at the counter. I reported the incident to the guard on duty, he assisted me to the customer service wherein in another shopper telling the other guard to blocked all the exits, because her wallet was stolen too, but they told us they cannot do that because they weren’t sure of the criminals’ identities. We even asked them to view the cctv so we can identify right away the pick-pockets  but they told us that they have to request first and only the main office could do it. And the guard told me that like this incident, they just get the cash and the wallet with the cards will be recovered after closing time of the supermarket.
 
To my dismaye i left the place and asked the bank teller inside the mall to blocked all my cards so they could not use them and went home without my wallet and groceries.
At around 10:44pm same day  an employee of sm texted informing me that my wallet was recovered and my cards were intacted without my cash.”
 
In this incident happened to my wife, I did not see the role of the Security in SM Southmall.  The way they talk to the victims, it appears that this unfortunate incidents happens in a regular basis but looks like they are helpless, they are stupid, they are lazy, they have no security procedure in place, or they are involved.
 
Thank you and I hope this incident will be published to warn the public.
 
Regards,
 
Roy Rivas
Las Piñas Resident