Last Wednesday afternoon (September 9), a shopper at a department store located along Mabini Street in Baguio City caught on video the owner of the store, Henry Lao, berating, cursing, and shoving a female customer who allegedly tried to steal fabric from the establishment. When the video was uploaded on Facebook, it quickly went viral. As of this writing, the video has been shared more than 14,000 times and has accumulated over 7,000 comments. These numbers don't include those generated by mirror copies of the video that has been re-uploaded by other Facebook pages.
Now, the businessman and the customer have spoken to air their sides on the issue. In a segment for ABS-CBN Northern Luzon, reporter Ada Marie Sibayan personally talked to Lao. The businessman reportedly stated that he was aware of the customer's modus. "Kaya ang alam ko din, okay siya. Siempre, nakikita mo siya halos every other day na bumibili rito, hindi mo naman inaasahan na ganyan ang mangyayari," Lao said.
Sibayan also dug up Lao's police record and based on the records of the municipal trial court in Baguio City, several cases of oral defamation and physical injuries had been filed against Lao in the past. According to the ABS-CBN report, three of the cases had been dismissed, one is pending, and one led to Lao's conviction for slight physical injuries.
On the other hand, the customer in the video aired her side on the local radio station, Bombo Radyo. She maintained her claim to innocence. According to her, she went back to the department store right after the incident to talk to Lao and explain that she wasn't stealing from his store. The meeting reportedly didn't go well.
Bombo Radyo also took Lao's side. The businessman said that he only did what was right. He added that it's up to the courts to decide on the issue should the customer decide to file a case against him.