An overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Qatar was honored not only by the Philippine government but also with the government of Qatar for helping to capture a total of seven men suspected of stealing $82,500 (QR301,125) from a Turkish passenger at Doha International Airport in January, 2014.
The 38-year-old Filipino expat who worked as a Qatar Airways CCTV and access control security agent, was awarded with certificate of appreciation from the Ambassador of the Philippines Embassy in Qatar.
The event honoring Rodel Vinluan took place last Sunday, June 15, 2014, during the Migrant Workers Day, a day that provides recognition to all Filipinos working overseas.
In an interview with Doha News, Philippine Embassy welfare officer in Qatar, Lenny Cleofas, was quoted as saying “You provided excellent service to a passenger in need and demonstrated the value that an effective security team provides at Doha International Airport.” she said.
According to previous reports, the incident involving Rodel Vinluan’s heroism took place during the Pinoy worker’s night shift at the Doha International Airport on January 18, 2014.
During the incident, a Turkish passenger claimed to have left his briefcase which contained $82,500, in the airport’s restroom. After the incident was reported to authorities, Rodel Vinluan said that he and his colleagues spent hours looking through CCTV footage to find that a Malaysian man had taken the briefcase and divided the money between himself and six other suspects.
The suspects were then apprehended by authorities when they had been preparing to board their flight to Italy. In an interview with Doha News, the case was considered as one of the biggest cases they have seen take place.