College student accused of rape try kills self in Manila

MANILA, Philippines—A 20-year-old college student who has been accused of trying to rape his teenage cousin hanged himself to death in Manila on Monday afternoon.

The young man, a resident of Singalong Street in Malate, was already dead, hanging from the ceiling of the second floor hallway in his home, with a nylon cord looped around his neck, before his irate aunt could personally confront him over his alleged attempt to molest his 13-year-old cousin.

Senior Police Officer 2 Ronald Gallo, of the Manila Police District (MPD) homicide section, revealed that an hour before the discovery of the suicide around 4:30 p.m., Monday, the 13-year-old girl phoned her mother, a worker in Quezon City, to claim that the young man tried to rape her while she was sleeping on their living room sofa.

Gallo said that the girl’s irked mother called up the college student and rebuked him over the phone, to which her nephew responded with muttered apologies. The woman then hurried home to seek out the college student for a confrontation but found him hanging from the ceiling.

She asked neighbors for help in bringing down the body and trying to revive him but the effort proved too late.

If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, please reach out to the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH). Their crisis hotlines are available at 1553 (Luzon-wide landline toll-free), 0917-899-USAP (8727), 0966-351-4518, and 0908-639-2672. For more information, visit their website: (https://doh.gov.ph/NCMH-Crisis-Hotline)

Alternatively, you can contact Hopeline PH at the following numbers: 0917-5584673, 0918-8734673, 88044673. Additional resources are available at ngf-mindstrong.org, or connect with them on Facebook at Hopeline PH.