Bureau of Immigration (BI) agents arrested a Japanese national for beating his 21-year-old Filipina wife a few days before Christmas.
Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said Shoichi Katoh, 62, was arrested outside the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City where his wife, Maridel, is currently confined.
Libanan said Katoh will be charged with violation of Republic Act 9262, the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act.
“The BI will also act accordingly after charges have been filed against Katoh,” Libanan said. He ordered Katoh’s immediate arrest after the victim’s father reported to him his daughter’s ordeal at the hands of the Japanese national.
“Foreigners who beat their Filipina wives should not go unpunished. They should face the consequences of their actions,” Libanan said.
According to Libanan, Maridel said Katoh beat her up at gunpoint last Dec. 21 after she prevented her husband from hurting their four-month-old baby.
Maridel was nearly paralyzed from the beating she received from Katoh and had to be taken to the hospital for immediate medical attention.
The victim said she called up her father in Borongan, Samar for fear that Katoh would kill her. Maridel’s father then approached Libanan, a fellow Samareno and a former congressman of Eastern Samar, to seek help.
Because of the severe beating, Maridel said she and her father were forced to spend Christmas in the hospital, Libanan said. – Rudy Santos