Boy strangled by schoolmate dies

BY FELIPE CELINO ROXAS City — A Grade 1 pupil of the Buntod Elementary School in Brgy. Buntod, Dumalag was strangled to death by his schoolmate after they squabbled over the children’s game taksi on Tuesday, police said. The incident happened at the back of the classroom of Grade 2 pupils during the schoolchildren’s recess period, Dumalag police said. Senior Insp. Alcer Monsera, Dumalag police chief, said the nine-year-old suspect, a Grade 3 pupil, punched the eight-year-old victim before strangling him. The suspect child left the weakened body of the victim in a grassy area in the school campus before heading back to his classroom, police said. Police said the victim’s teacher looked for her pupil, who failed to return to their classroom more than an hour after the recess period ended. When found, the barely-breathing victim was rushed to the Rural Health Unit of Dumalag but Dr. Anna Mae Villasoto, rural health officer, declared him dead upon arrival. Police said the victim sustained hematoma in the neck; his family asked the authorities to autopsy the boy’s body to determine the real cause of his death. The children’s names were being withheld upon the request of their families. The suspect surrendered to the barangay captain of Buntod. He is currently in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development