Thursday, June 07, 2007
Amok in bus hacks woman to death
By Aledel G. Cuizon
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
A FEMALE bus passenger died after her neck was nearly severed by a man who was depressed after learning that this wife had left him. He also injured the bus driver.
Cornelio Latingga, 28, attacked the woman seated in front of him and the bus driver Dennis Lepon, 34, just as the Ceres bus they were riding from Daanban-tayan arrived at the North Bus Terminal in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City yesterday afternoon.
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Marife Mendoza of Barangay Lahug, Cebu City was pronounced dead on arrival at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
Latingga tried to escape on foot, but policemen of the Mobile Patrol Group (MPG) of the Cebu City Police Office subdued him.
The MPG received the alarm at 1:14 p.m. about a man, later identified as Latingga, who went berserk at the reclamation area in Mandaue City.
Latingga, who was armed with a bolo, fled the area and began running towards Cebu City.
A Toyota Innova patrol car boarded by PO2s Romeo Gabutan and Jaime Dumalag intercepted Latingga in a nearby mall.
Before the police could restrain him, Latingga got hold of an empty bottle and threw it at the patrol car, damaging its rear right door.
Latingga, who was still holding on to the bolo, allegedly tried to hack the two policemen, prompting Gabutan to shoot him.
Latingga took a bullet in the left butt. He was driven to the Cebu City Medical Center.
Subangdaku Police Station Chief Eddie Castañeda said that Latingga was traveling with his sister Jingjing Locaylocay from the north to go to their hometown of Barili.
They brought with them Latingga’s two sons.
Castañeda said that Latingga has been depressed for a week because his wife reportedly left him for another man.
Locaylocay, who was interrogated at the Subangdaku Police Station, said everything happened suddenly.
Latingga was reportedly seated in front of Locaylocay.
When the bus arrived at the terminal, Locaylocay said she told her brother that it was time to go. She was shocked to see Latingga hack the woman in front of him, later identified as Mendoza. In her panic, she ran out of the bus with only one of her nephews.
She also didn’t see what Latingga did to the driver.
Castañeda said that even though Cebu City policemen arrested Latingga, Subangdaku police will take charge of filing the complaint against the suspect.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 7, 2007 issue)
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