Detainee dies in Pasay jail; 6 others collapse

MANILA, Philippines — A drug suspect being held in the overcrowded detention facility of the Pasay City police’s investigation section died and six others collapsed from the heat Wednesday night.

Domingo delos Santos, 35, suffered a heart attack and died at the Pasay City General Hospital.

He collapsed at around noon and was given medicine and something to drink. They allowed him to stay in the facility’s narrow hallway to cool down, then sent him back inside.

The custodial facility, which has an area of 22.8 square meters, is supposed to hold only 40 people. It currently houses 157 detainees, 14 of them women, investigation section chief Senior Inspector Wilfredo Sangel said.

Six other detainees were also sent to the hospital after collapsing: drug suspects Abrar Faiz, Ric Paule and Eric de Leon; car theft suspect Rannie Ramos; theft suspect Jeson Salibio and Omar Siddik, who is accused of being a fence. De Leon is the only one still in the hospital.

Most of the detainees in the facility were arrested during anti-crime operations. Those arrested for drugs were supposed to be detained in the drug enforcement unit’s facility, which is being renovated, Sangel said.