In an audacious act of retribution, a victim of a mobile phone snatching incident left law enforcement and netizens astounded by commandeering the thief’s motorcycle in Las Piñas City.

Mark Russel Zapata, the victim, took it upon himself to retrieve his stolen phone, valued at PHP 10,000, by seizing the motorcycle belonging to the perpetrator.

This peculiar and somewhat risky act of vengeance earned Zapata cheers from the online community.

The Las Piñas police chief, Colonel Jaime Santos, shared this astonishing account in a video message posted on Facebook over the weekend. “Napakapambihirang kaso po nito dahil ito po ay nangyayari lamang sa (This is a very rare case because it only happens on) TikTok,” he remarked while trying to contain his laughter.

Santos introduced Zapata in the video, stating, “Kaya nandito po siya ngayon, nagrereklamo po siya dahil ‘yung cellphone niya, tinakbo ng snatcher; siya naman ‘yung motor ng snatcher tinakbo niya din po” (He is here today to file a complaint because the snatcher ran off with his cellphone, and in return, he took the snatcher’s motorcycle).

Santos went on to explain that Zapata managed to grab both the motorcycle’s keys and an identification card believed to belong to the suspect.

“Noong naagaw po ang cellphone niya, tumakbo po ‘yung snatcher, at naagaw naman niya ‘yung susi at tinakbo naman niya ‘yung motor ng snatcher” (When his cellphone was stolen, the snatcher ran away; meanwhile, he was able to grab the key and took the snatcher’s motorcycle).

Santos added, “Naiwan po ‘yung ID ng pinaghihinalaan niyang nangi-snatch” (The suspected snatcher left behind an identification card), pointing out that the alleged suspect hails from Bacoor City in Cavite province.

The video message posted by Santos on Facebook has already garnered an impressive 6 million views and 80,000 reactions, with one netizen humorously commenting, “How silly, the snatcher gave more.”

Others noted that instant karma had befallen the snatcher and playfully attributed the incident to an early Christmas exchange of gifts.