A 2m-long python caused a commotion at a Manila police station on Tuesday, with rattled police officers used to battling tough criminals forced to destroy an officer’s desk where the snake slithered in to hide, officials said.
Police officers and village volunteer guards at the station in Manila’s Quiapo district managed to subdue the animal, but one police sergeant ended up with his desk destroyed so the python could be extricated from its drawer without being harmed.
”The policemen on duty were afraid, but they could not leave because it would embarrassing to run away while a television camera was filming the whole thing,” senior police officer Cesar Sabile said with a chuckle.
The incident started before dawn when a bystander saw the python near a fast-food restaurant in a nearby district.
Village guards managed to capture the snake and bring it to the police station. But the python quickly slithered out of its captors’ grasp and sneaked into a small opening on a police officer’s table, causing a commotion.
The unharmed python was later turned over to Manila Zoo representatives. — Sapa-AP