A frustrated murder complaint has been lodged against a 19-year-old man in connection with the fatal beating of a public school teacher in New Washington, Aklan, authorities said.
The 52-year-old victim died while receiving treatment at Asia Pacific Medical Center-Aklan in Kalibo, according to the Daily Guardian, which cited New Washington Municipal Police Station chief Maj. Dandy Gonzalodo. The teacher’s relatives notified police of his death on the afternoon of July 28, two days after the confrontation.
The clash unfolded late on July 26 in Barangay Mabilo, where both men were attending an advance graduation celebration. A heated exchange broke out between the pair during the event, according to an initial police account reported by PhilNews.
The teacher chose to leave and had already mounted his motorcycle when the younger man went after him and struck him repeatedly, police said. The blows knocked the victim to the pavement and left him unconscious. He was brought to the hospital and placed in intensive care.
Investigators have not yet established what caused the teacher’s death, and his family has asked for an autopsy, Gonzalodo told the Daily Guardian. He said the frustrated murder complaint, filed during inquest proceedings on July 28, would be revised to reflect the victim’s death.
The suspect was taken into custody shortly after the assault and remains held by New Washington police. Accounts of the victim’s residence vary: one report placed his home in Poblacion, Kalibo, while another identified him as a resident of San Miguel, Iloilo, who had been renting in Kalibo.
