Manila jail inmate dies in hospital, liver ailment eyed

MANILA, Philippines—A 43-year-old tricycle driver detained at the Manila City Jail (MCJ) for a drug charge died Sunday morning at a hospital allegedly due to a liver ailment.

Alex Casulla, of 723 Blumentritt St. in Sampaloc, was found unconscious at around 5 a.m. Sunday by his fellow inmates at Cell 8 of the Bahala na Gang dormitory inside the detention facility and was rushed by prison guards to the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRMMC).

Casulla was declared dead by attending doctors at the JRMMC at around 7 a.m. Sunday.

Senior Police Officer 1 Gerardo Rivera, of the Manila Police District homicide section, said the inmate had been detained at the MCJ since February after he was charged with violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 for possession of illegal drug paraphernalia.

Rivera revealed that based on the statement of Casulla’s relatives, the tricycle driver had been treated two months before the incident at the JRMMC for a liver ailment.

Casulla’s body, the case investigator said, would be subjected to a post-mortem examination to determine and establish the specific cause of his death.