PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur——A fisherman from Tabina, Zamboanga del Sur is now in jail and awaiting formal charges after he tried to set his common-law wife on fire following a heated argument.
Tabina police chief Capt. Floreza Espinoza, identified the suspect as Richard Delima, 35.
On Wednesday evening, Delima’s partner, Helen Fernandez, 37, had raised to him a concern about their water supply since their household is currently tapping water from a neighbor in Purok Tanducan, Barangay Poblacion.
Delima reportedly dismissed Helen’s concern, which eventually led to a heated argument.
As Helen was about to sleep at around 10 p.m., Delima, already piqued, poured gasoline on her and set her on fire.
The couple’s daughter Rhealyn, however, immediately doused her mother with water. The victim sustained burns on the left side of her body.
Delima voluntarily surrendered to the police. He is now detained at the Tabina police station and will face a formal complaint for violation of the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act.