Restaurant burglarized thrice, 3 teens fall

The Canton Restaurant in Garapan, which has been operating on Saipan 24 years now, was burglarized thrice in the past four months.

The latest incident happened early Saturday morning when police arrested three male juveniles who were caught inside the restaurant.

Department of Public Safety spokesperson Lei Ogumoro confirmed with Saipan Tribune that Canton Restaurant was indeed burglarized. She, however, stated that she has not seen the complete police report yet.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday, Canton Restaurant owner Carol Wong Chan said it was the police who called them that three teenagers had been arrested for breaking into the establishment.

Chan said she learned that it was a security guard from another establishment who called the police when he noticed a beam of light from a flashlight inside Canton Restaurant.

Responding police officers arrested the suspects, who were found in possession of two boxes of frozen shrimps, two cases of beer, $20 cash, candies, chocolates, and other items.

Chan said the teenagers managed to enter the restaurant by removing the steel bars from the kitchen’s window, located in the back of the building.

She said the window was not fully repaired after the second burglary that occurred on Feb. 15, during which $50 in coins and $100 worth of watches and some items were stolen from her office and the restaurant.

The owner said that on Dec. 20, burglars stole her digital camera, electronic dictionary, $100 in coins, and her small wallet containing $100.

On Feb. 22, Chan’s Rose Karaoke, located above the Canton Restaurant, was also burglarized and a DVD player, CDs and other karaoke equipment were stolen.

Chan said that, although they thank the police for the arrest, they are also appealing to law enforcers to conduct more patrol runs in Garapan because of rampant burglaries.

“We already tried many improvements in the building for security purposes. But the burglars just keep on coming. That’s why we don’t leave big amounts of money in the restaurant and my office anymore,” Chan said.

The businesswoman said the burglars would strike at their restaurant every year, especially when Christmas is approaching.

Chan’s sister, Ana, said they are tired and upset because they are frequent victims of these burglars.

“The parents should control their children! Why are these kids still out on the streets at 3am?” an exasperated Ana asked.

Ana said the restaurant has been burglarized numerous times in its 24-year operation and they are in fact amassing quite a number of police report cards.

The sisters said that in all those previous burglaries, Saturday was only the second time they could remember when police made an arrest.