A DISAGREEMENT between two motorcycle taxi (habal-habal) drivers resulted in one of the drivers being bit, causing injuries to his left ear and left finger.
The incident took place at the Dumanjug Public Market around 4:30 p.m. Friday, September 15, 2023.
The victim was identified as Rick Antiquin, 47, married, a resident of Sitio Ecotech, Barangay Liong, Dumanjug town, southwest Cebu.
But Antiquin's assailant, 33-year-old Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental native Lando Permin Geronda, said that he bit Antiquin's ear because the victim allegedly grabbed his testicles.
After the incident, Geronda was taken into police custody.
"Akong gihambat iyang dunggan kay gikumot man niya akong itlog," Geronda told the police.
(He pressed my testicles, so I responded by biting his ear.)
Police Staff Sergeant Loreniel Labasa of the Dumanjug Police Station told SunStar Cebu that both the victim and the suspect were drunk at the time of the incident.
Their fight was allegedly caused by grabbing each other’s passengers.
Labasa said that prior to the incident, the victim was waiting for passengers when the suspect arrived and punched him in the face without any provocation.
During their struggle, Geronda and Antiquin hit each other with helmets, but the victim allegedly felt outmatched, prompting him to grab the suspect's testicles.
Geronda admitted that his testicles might have been crushed if he had not bitten the victim.
But Geronda begged the victim's pardon and pledged to cover the cost of his medication. (GPL/TPT)