Hurting nurse files P3-M suit vs van bully

Losing his temper and punching a fellow passenger might just cost John Michael Musni P3 million.

The woman Musni assaulted inside a passenger van earlier this week is asking for that amount as she filed a complaint against him in the Quezon City prosecutor’s office on Friday.

Johanna Balen, a training nurse at a hospital also in Quezon City, was assisted by lawyer Raymond Fortun, who offered his legal service for free after seeing the now viral video of the May 3 incident on Facebook.

“The charges have very short imprisonment term but we are more intent on giving justice to Johanna. We’re also determined to seek damages so that Mr. Musni’s acts will not be emulated. He might just also laugh at us if it were a small amount, just like what he’s doing on Facebook,” Fortun said.

Musni, who have two known addresses in North Olympus, Novaliches, and in North Fairview, Quezon City, is facing complaints for slight physical injuries, oral defamation and slander by deed.

Attached to the complaint is a copy of the videos taken by Soy Gonzales, another passenger who discreetly recorded the encounter between Musni and Balen in a UV Express van going to Caloocan City.

In a Facebook post, Gonzales said a couple hailed the van at Nova Stop, with the man shouting at Balen when she did not move from her seat near the door. When Balen explained that she’s getting off at Olympus shortly, the man, later identified as Musni, snarled back that it was their stop, too.

While inside the van, Musni repeatedly cursed and threatened Balen, and then punched her in the shoulder as he got off the vehicle, Gonzales said.

Balen recounted in the complaint how Musni kept making snide remarks even after she had explained. “Considering that I would be getting off the UV Express van at the second gate of North Olympus which was barely 10 minutes away, and there being a lot of space for both of them to occupy the seats beside me, I moved my body so that I could sit on the rightmost portion of the second row nearest to the sliding door,” she said.

According to the nurse, Musni struck her twice. “The first strike hit me on my upper right arm. I felt pain where I was hit. I was jolted by the blow, so when the second fist strike came, I was able to defensively block the same, and I was hit instead on my right forearm,” she said.

Musni also punched the side of the van three times and even chased it for a few meters, she added.

Fortun said he decided to help Balen after seeing Musni’s arrogant comments regarding the incident on his Facebook page.

Balen is seeking P2 million in moral damages, P1 million in exemplary damages and P450 in actual damages for the medical certificate she needed to secure because of the incident.