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Guest worker claims bogus security man robbed him

A guest worker who fell victim to a thief who bluffed his way into his home and stole his wallet, detailed his experience in Magistrates' Court.

Nobuyoshi Kondo said he allowed the thief into his Rosemont Guest Suites apartment because he believed the man said he was a security guard.

He said he was shocked when the man grabbed the wallet in his hand, emptied the apartment safe, and ran off.

Rasool Ebbin, of Southampton, has pleaded not guilty to the November 23 offence.

“I was beside myself,” Mr Kondo said of the November 23 incident, which he then reported to hotel security and police.

Mr Ebbin, 27, has pleaded guilty to a string of offences which took place the following day: stealing $254, bank cards and drivers' licences from Just Shirts in Hamilton; falsely using a bank card to obtain a six pack of beer, two packs of cigarettes and lighters from Serpentine Liquors; stealing a purse containing $18 and bank cards in Pembroke, and stealing a wallet containing credit cards, bank cards and an iPod valued at $400.

Mr Kondo told the court he arrived on the Island on October 31 to train as an underwriter.

He said he went out for a meal on November 23 and returned home around 9pm.

He said he drifted off to sleep while reading and was woken by a knock on the door.

Mr Kondo said he looked through the peep hole and saw a man in a heavy plastic jacket wearing a helmet.

The man identified himself as security and said he needed to investigate the room.

“I asked him his purpose, because a security guard does not have the right to inspect my room, and he explained some guests were smoking drugs,” Mr Kondo said.

Despite that he opened the door and let the man inside.

Once in, the man looked at his passport, asked the purpose of his plane ticket and whether his camera was a bomb, Mr Kondo said.

He was then asked to open a safety box.

Crown counsel Robert Welling asked Mr Kondo if he had wanted to comply. He said no but he did because, “after two or three times he told me, his voice was getting louder and I felt afraid”.

Mr Kondo said the man then claimed he needed to examine his wallet for drugs. He also examined a laptop in the kitchen and looked in the fridge.

“He moved to me, then asked why I had the passport and wallet in my hands. I explained to him, because passport and wallet, it's very important,” Mr Kondo said.

After an exchange of words, the man grabbed Mr Kondo's wallet and walked back to the safety box.

The man took approximately $260 cash from the wallet and safe, and then ran.

Mr Kondo reported the attack to hotel security, and gave a written statement to police the next day.

Defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher then questioned Mr Kondo about a jacket and helmet he was shown by police and the description in his statement of the intruder as clean-shaven. Mr Kondo admitted his memory was getting a little vague.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo adjourned the trial until 9.30am tomorrow and remanded Mr Ebbin into custody until then.

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Published December 06, 2010 at 1:00 am (Updated December 10, 2010 at 3:30 am)

Guest worker claims bogus security man robbed him

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