Man beaten up by mob after alleged rape dies in hospital

MANILA, Philippines—A 49-year-old man died in a Manila hospital before midnight Thursday, four days after he was beaten up by a mob for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl in Binondo and turned over to the police.

Rolando Gomez, of Gate 54 Parola Compound in Binondo was in the holding cell on the second floor of the Meisic police station at the corner of Reina Regente and Soler Streets in Binondo when he started convulsing at 5 p.m. Thursday as he lay on a mat, prompting his fellow detainees to call for help.

Gomez was declared dead at around 11:45 by doctors at the Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital.

SPO1 Charles John Duran of the Manila Police District’s homicide section said Gomez was caught last Sunday by an angry mob of residents in the Binondo area after a 10-year-old girl claimed the man raped her.

Duran said that based on the statement of Barangay 275 Zone 25 community watch member Rodolfo Yerro, Gomez had been badly beaten, sustaining mostly head wounds, when he was turned over to their custody by the residents who pursued and placed him under citizen’s arrest.

He was then turned over to the MPD station 11 for booking and the filing of a rape charge against him.

During his detention, Gomez was observed by fellow detainees to be constantly lying down. But when they noticed late Thursday afternoon that he was having fits and looked very ill, they immediately informed holding cell custodians PO3 Antonio Bautista and PO3 Leonardo Mariano and asked them to take him to a hospital.

He died close to seven hours later while undergoing treatment.

Duran pointed out that when he examined the body at the hospital morgue, Gomez had a deep cut on his right eyebrow and had bruises around both eyes.

He theorized that Gomez could have succumbed to the beating he sustained in the hands of the mob and said a deeper investigation would be conducted on the cause of his death.