Man suffers stroke, dies in mall

A 61-year-old electrician died from a stroke while installing an electrical line on a computer stall in a mall early yesterday in Malabon City.

Chief Inspector Redyie Aldueso identified the victim as Juan Solomon of Interior Pilar street, Tondo, Manila.

Police Officer 2 Edsel de la Paz said the incident happened at around 11:20 p.m. Friday at a mall in Barangay Longos.

De la Paz said the victim and his assistant, Robert Torres, 23, were installing the electrical wiring of the store. Torres told probers Solomon apparently became unconscious while he was going down the portable ladder they were using and fell heavily on the cement floor.

Torres brought Solomon to the nearby Pagamutang Bayan ng Malabon (PBM) for medical attention but the latter was declared dead on arrival by doctors.

An unnamed daughter of the victim told police Solomon had been suffering abnormally high blood pressure before the incident and could have suffered a fatal stroke.

Solomon’s body was taken to a funeral home for autopsy. – Jerry Botial, Pete Laude

Lovesick teen kills self

A 15-year-old girl, reportedly unable to bear the thought of her 41-year-old lover going to jail, decided to kill herself in her home yesterday in Malabon City.

Chief Inspector Redyie Aldueso said investigators initially suspected the victim, a high school student, had ingested liquid jewelry cleaner.

Police Officer 3 Bobby Mario Egera said the victim’s family disapproved of the May-December relationship. 

Egera said the victim’s mother said her daughter went to the house of Rey Ocampo, a drainage worker, on July 9 in Pandacan, Manila.

She said her daughter told her that she and Ocampo had consensual sex after a drinking session.

Egera said the mother went to the police station to file charges of simple seduction in relation to Republic Act 7910 or the child abuse law.

On Friday night, the victim reportedly went out of the house without telling her mother. The mother went to Ocampo’s house, thinking her daughter was there. When she returned home at around 1 a.m. yesterday, she found her daughter foaming at the mouth and gasping for breath.

The victim, who allegedly objected to her family interfering with her love life, was taken to the Pagamutang Bayan ng Malabon, where she was declared dead on arrival by attending physician Dr. Emerlito Bungay.   

The preliminary investigation of the charges against Ocampo took place last July 13 at the Manila prosecutor’s office. – Jerry Botial, Pete Laude

Woman seeks justice for stillborn baby

A 32-year-old mother is seeking justice following the loss of one of the twins she delivered prematurely as a result of the injury she allegedly suffered at the hands of her husband’s employer.

According to Balut, Tondo police station chief Superintendent Romulo Sapitula, Karen Cerbantes’ common-law husband, Rafael Jimedo, works as a driver and stay-in employee for junk shop operator Tita Castillo.

Sapitula said Castillo and Jimedo had a heated argument after he refused to drive for her, claiming that the vehicle has a minor engine problem.

Castillo slammed the wooden door of the house before leaving. The door reportedly hit the belly of Cerbantes, who was then standing behind the door.

Cerbantes, who was seven months pregnant at the time, prematurely delivered twin baby boys, one of whom was already dead.

Police said the dead baby had a crushed skull and a deformed face, which may have been the result of a hard blow from a blunt object.

Jimedo brought his dead son when he filed his complaint before the police.

“We want justice for our baby. Anyone who caused his death should suffer before the law,” the couple said. Cerbantes said she will have a difficult time pursuing the case since she has no money.

Police are studying whether to charge Castillo with unintentional abortion. – Nestor Etolle