Biblical verse drives man to cut off organ

BACOLOD CITY — A 32-year-old farmer who believed his penis was driving him to sin sliced it off with a machete in a fit of religious fervor, family members and doctors said.

Relatives said they found Roland Magsipoc, a former security guard, lying on the floor, covered in blood and with a portion of his penis missing when they went to his hut last Monday.

"He is a good son, and one of seven children. He indulged himself by reading the Bible," Magsipoc’s mother told reporters here where he is now hospitalized.

"His act was probably triggered by the book of Matthew 18:8," she said.

The verse, from the New Testament, reads: "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire."

Family members said they rushed Magsipoc to a nearby hospital here where doctors said they had stitched up and reconstructed his penis, although it is now 20 percent shorter.

Doctors said his penis showed several wounds, indicating that he had hacked at it several times before cutting it off.

He is now in stable condition and his wounds were expected to heal in two and a half weeks, doctors said.

Magsipoc’s mother said her son had been depressed and obsessed with the Bible since his wife moved to Manila to work as a housemaid.

"He said he wanted to be nailed to a coconut tree," she said. "He had memorized the Bible and preaches with the pastors in our place."

"He also advised other people to remove nude photos from their walls so that small children will not become sex maniacs later," she added.

Magsipoc was quoted as saying he had no regrets about cutting off his penis because it was driving him to sin.