The parents of a 3-year-old boy who accidentally stabbed his playmate, a 4-year-old girl who later died due to complications, may be held liable for her death.
Inspector Elmer Monsalve of the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, however, said that they have yet to receive a report about the stabbing, which took place last month in Barangay (village) Sauyo.
According to him, since the boy is a minor, he cannot be held criminally liable under the country’s laws.
His parents, on the other hand, may be charged with a civil case over the death of the young girl.
“It will depend on what the court will award as damages. The government can also intervene and provide counseling to the boy and the parents,” Monsalve said in an interview.
At the same time, he urged parents to keep a close watch on their children whenever they are playing with other kids.
Officials of Sauyo said the girl died on Sunday morning, 10 days after she was rushed to the hospital for a stab wound in the chest.
In a radio interview with Rina Evangelista, the victim’s mother, she said that her daughter told her that the boy, her playmate, had stabbed her with a barbecue stick.
The girl said that as they were playing, they started arguing and the boy stabbed her. The incident happened on September 27 at the Herminigildo Compound in Sauyo, Novaliches, Quezon City.
The girl was taken to a hospital where she remained confined until she passed away at 6 a.m. on Sunday due to pneumonia and complications arising from her injury.
According to doctors, the stick pierced a portion of her heart. The wound, however, got infected.
Barangay public safety officer Florencio Marasigan said the dead girl’s parents have asked for help in burying their daughter.