Unpaid hotel bill lands Nigerian in Manila jail

MANILA, Philippines—A Nigerian student landed in jail allegedly for failing to pay the balance for his three-day stay at a hotel in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

The management of Town & Country brought Basharo Galadima, 25, to the Manila Police District headquarters Thursday morning over his unsettled bill amounting to almost P5,000. Galadima, an economics student studying in Manila and residing in a condo building on Vito Cruz, paid a P2,500 deposit when he checked in late Monday night with his girlfriend, who left Wednesday.

When the management billed him the next morning, he said a fellow Nigerian coming from Batangas province would be bringing the money, but that person never came.

The student, who remained in detention on Friday, later claimed he had lost his wallet in a taxi. Annelle Tayao-Juego