The suspect in the series of robbery-molestations of several female dentists in their clinics last year was sentenced to life imprisonment Thursday for one of the cases filed against him.
Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 42 Judge Dinnah Topacio found Albert Galang de la Cruz “guilty beyond reasonable doubt” for the robbery-rape of a victim in Paco, Manila, last year.
The complaint was filed by two female dentists who were robbed in their clinic on Pedro Gil Street on May 26. De la Cruz had pretended to be a patient and struck when the two were alone in the office.
Brandishing a knife and a gun, he tied them up, robbed them of cash, jewelry and gadgets, and even raped the older dentist, before fleeing.
Since then, a spate of similar cases of robbery-molestation was reported in Metro Manila, particularly Quezon City, and even the nearby provinces.
De la Cruz was arrested in his home in Las Piñas City three months after the Paco heist. He admitted to the crimes, saying he did it as revenge on the medical profession for a friend’s death.
Topacio sentenced De la Cruz to reclusion perpetua for the Paco robbery-rape, without eligibility for parole, pursuant to Republic Act No. 9346, or the act prohibiting the death penalty.
She also ordered him to return the stolen jewelry to the two dentists, or pay them the value of the stolen items amounting to P193,500.
He was also directed to pay his rape victim P75,000 as civil indemnity, P75,000 as moral damages and P30,000 as exemplary damages.
Philippine Dental Association president Roberto Tajonera said the verdict was a “big triumph for us.”
“After the damage that was done to our female Filipino dentists, and the stress and tension we all suffered, at least justice has been served,” he said.
Tajonera said they hoped the successful verdict on the Paco case would just be the first.
The other victims had filed their complaints against De la Cruz in their respective areas.