Suspect identified in couple’s robbery, assault

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD CITY – Police have obtained a lead on the suspect accused of robbing a couple and allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in a sugarcane field in Barangay Palampas, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, on Saturday, March 30.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Nazer Canja, city police chief, confirmed that they have identified a person of interest after the female victim recognized the suspect from the police station’s rogues’ gallery.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Canja, the woman and her underage boyfriend were drinking with a friend on Black Saturday. They left for a private necessity in a sugarcane field at about 8 p.m. Unbeknownst to them, an unidentified individual was following them.

The assailant reportedly announced a hold-up, brandishing a weapon and threatening the couple, before stealing their personal items, including a wallet, cell phones, and an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card, Canja elaborated.

The female victim alleges that the suspect then sexually assaulted her in front of her boyfriend before escaping on foot. The authorities are awaiting the results of her medical examination, Lieutenant Colonel Canja noted.

The woman’s boyfriend could not retaliate due to the suspect being armed, Canja observed, speculating that the perpetrator stumbled upon the victims unexpectedly.

The suspect, known to the authorities due to a past robbery case and multiple complaints of threats, is under investigation for potential involvement in further illicit activities, Canja disclosed.

Canja affirmed that charges for robbery and contravention of Republic Act 8353, also known as The Anti-Rape Law of 1997, are being prepared against the individual in question.