Simple accident turns nasty in Quezon City

An accident involving a motorcycle and a van on Sunday turned ugly after the motorcycle rider used a cutter to wound the passengers of the van as they were on their way to the police station to settle the matter.

Joanel Tan, 30, a resident of De Guzman street in Quiapo, Manila, was charged on Monday in the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office with frustrated homicide and serious physical injuries, said Senior Police Officer 3 Gil Dy of the Talipapa police station. On the other hand, his victims Joel Ng, 50; Kenneth Reyes, 15; and Emily Reposo-ong, 34, were taken to a hospital for treatment.

The police said that after the victims’ Nissan Urvan bumped into Tan’s motorcycle on Quezon Avenue in Quezon City  at 12:20 a.m. on Sunday, the suspect, who was drunk, got into their vehicle and with a traffic enforcer serving as their escort, they headed for the Traffic Sector 1 office, said traffic investigator Ronnie Nazareno.

However, while they were inside the van, Tan took a cutter from his bag, slit Ng’s chin and the lower portion of his ear and then turned on Reyes, cutting his left cheek and lower chin, a report said. Ng, who was driving the van, stopped the vehicle and with the help of another son who was in another vehicle, pulled out Tan from the van.

Reposo-ong, meanwhile, was hit on the knee as Tan continued to wield the cutter even while he was outside the vehicle. The victims were rushed to Manila Central University hospital in Caloocan City for treatment while Tan was arrested and taken to the Quezon City Police District Talipapa station.—Rima Jessamine M. Granali