Monday, July 21, 2008 ‘Drug-crazed’ man keeps police busy with stunt on chapel roof
A 45-YEAR-OLD man kept the police busy for four hours yesterday as he threatened to kill himself on a chapel’s roof in Barangay San Isidro, Talisay City, just hours after he tried to slash his neck in a bus.
He survived. But for many hours, he refused to come down despite pleas from his siblings and responding authorities.
Eduardo Maglinte threatened to slash his neck with a kitchen knife whenever police officers tried to go up to convince him to descend. He reportedly suffered from a nervous breakdown.
Talisay City Police Station Chief Romeo Perigo said more than four hours passed before they got the chance to subdue Maglinte and bring him down from the roof, some 12 feet above ground.
Residents yesterday awoke to find Perigo and his men, who received a call for assistance past 5 a.m., urging Maglinte to come down.
Talisay Rescue Emergency Action Team (Treat) members led by Dr. Lino Alanzado and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) personnel also responded to the call.
Perigo said that though Maglinte kept on saying he wanted to kill himself, he had no specific demands, and likely just wanted to draw attention.
He said they suspected that Maglinte did not really want to end his life because though he threatened to jump, he still tightly held on to an aerial cable.
“(But) we were dealing with an unstable person. So, we were very cautious in approaching him,” he said.
At around 8:30 a.m., Maglinte asked for a drink, so Alanzado put Valium into the glass to calm him down.
When Maglinte appeared drowsy and loosened his grip on the knife, the police quickly grabbed and subdued him.
Maglinte was taken to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center for treatment of his neck wounds.
Perigo said he was grateful for the help of the BFP, Treat, barangay tanods and residents who immediately placed used tires and mattresses on the ground to cushion the impact, had Maglinte jumped.
He also thanked Maglinte’s older brother for helping in the negotiation.
Perigo said he will wait for the attending physician to give a report on Maglinte’s mental condition.
The findings will help the police determine if they could file an alarm and scandal complaint against him.
Radio dyAB reported that Maglinte arrived in a barge that docked in Barangay Bato, Samboan, Cebu from Dumaguete City past midnight yesterday.
While in a Cebu City-bound bus from Santander, Maglinte, who was holding a blade, allegedly started slashing his neck, alarming other passengers.
The driver decided to drop him off at the Santander Police Station, which coordinated with Maglinte’s siblings in Talisay City.
DYAB also reported that Maglinte’s siblings wanted him to undergo rehabilitation, as he was allegedly under the influence of illegal drugs. (JST)
