BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – A six-year-old boy died from serious head and body injuries after he was allegedly tortured and brutally mauled by six teenagers, five of whom are minors, in Talisay City, Negros Occidental last Thursday afternoon.
The victim, Joemarie Sarmiento, a kinder pupil at the Talisay South Elementary School, was badly beaten by six boys in a vacant lot in Brgy. Zone 12 in Talisay, said social worker Othela Clavecillas.
Two of the six suspects were arrested by concerned citizens and were immediately turned over to the Talisay City Police Station and the Balay Pasilungan of the City’s Department of Social Welfare and Development Office (DSWD).
Two of the boys ages nine and 14, both Grade 2 pupils, said their group was sniffing rugby (a solvent) in the vacant lot when the victim strayed in the area. They denied involvement in the crime, saying it was their companion, a certain “Guard†who is of legal age, who hit the victim with a piece of wood many times. This reportedly explains the numerous injuries on the victim’s body.
Another companion, they said, hogtied the victim using an electrical wire and covered his head with a plastic bag.
They said one of their companions is 11 years old while two others are 14 years old.
Clavecillas said the victim’s mother, Shirley Laganhon, asked help from her office after her other son discovered the victim’s lifeless body.
Talisay policemen, in coordination with DSWD-Talisay Office headed by Ben Mosquerra, are currently conducting pursuit operations of the remaining suspects. (FREEMAN)