INQUIRER Global Nation

CEBU CITY, Philippines - A brother of Ruby Jade Ruba, the nursing student who was shot and killed by robbers for her cellular phone last month, yesterday told police that he received a threat through text messaging.

Ritche reported to the Fuente police station that he received the message past midnight yesterday. The message sender identified himself as Aivan.

Ritche said he felt scared because he knew that one of the suspects in the murder of his younger sister was named Aivan Baratbat.

He said the message may have come from Aivan's friends or gang members.

Data that police retrieved from Ritche's cellular phone indicated that an unknown cellular phone number rang Ritche's phone at 12:07 a.m. When Ritche replied through text messaging asking who the caller was, he got a reply asking if he was the brother of Ruby Jade Ruba.

Ritche said he got scared and did not reply back. A few minutes later, he received another message from the same number saying, “I'll see you in my dreams.”

Supt. Henry Binas, chief of Fuente Police, said the messages were a serious threat.

He ordered police to keep watch over Ritche and conduct patrols near his apartment.

Ruby Jade was killed on March 5 by a pair of motorcycle-riding robbers. Police later arrested three suspects, two of them – Baratbat and Mark Anthony Gabriel – admitted to the crime. /Correspondent Carine Era M. Asutilla