Steel gate kills boy in Pandacan

A three-year-old boy was killed after he was accidentally pinned by the steel gate of a construction company in Pandacan, Manila Friday night.

The fatality, Aeros Orbeta, of Beata, Pandacan, sustained massive head injuries, officer-on-case SPO4 Alfredo Salazar said.

Investigation showed that at around 5:25 p.m. the victim was together with several other children playing outside the E. Ramos Construction Co. located at 2982 Lorenzo de la Paz street, Pandacan, Manila.

The victim’s playmates told police that Orbeta was trying to reach in for a P1 coin inside the compound when the steel gate swung open and pinned Orbeta.

Salazar said he found blood splotches and bits of skull at the portion of the gate.

The children pointed to Sainodin Latip, a stay-in security guard of the company, as the person who opened the gate that pinned the victim.

At his detention cell, the 21-year-old Latip claimed the death of the child was accidental. He said he was not aware the boy was nearby when he swung open the steel gate.

"I did not intend to hurt anyone, especially the victim whom I always offered food. It was purely accidental," Latip said in Filipino.

However, Salazar said he would still file charges against Latip.

"It’s quite impossible for the guard not to notice that a boy was being pinned since even his small body would somehow momentarily block the opening of the door. Yet he did not attempt to even look at what was blocking the gate," explained Salazar. – With Edu Punay