By Jennifer P. Rendon
A man facing rape charges died of apparent suicide inside the custodial facility of Balasan Police Station.
The body of Dan (not his real name), 43, of Barangay Gimamanay, Balasan, Iloilo, was discovered around 6:40 a.m. of Easter Sunday.
Staff Sergeant Ramon Allan Elambre, Balasan police investigator, said Dan hanged himself inside the prison cell’s comfort room.
Elambre said the inmate was alone in the male custodial facility when the incident happened.
Corporal Mark Chavez, the Balasan PNP duty jailer, said he did check on the prisoners, to include two others in the women’s custodial cell, around 12:30 a.m.
Dan appeared to be sound asleep, Chavez observed.
Chavez again inspected the inmates at past 6 am Sunday.
When he did not see Dan, he called for his name. But when he got no answer, he opened the cell and saw Dan hanging inside the comfort room.
Dan was rushed to Jesus Colmenares District Hospital in Balasan town but he was declared dead on arrival.
Elambre said that Dan was not the station’s inmate per se.
Members of the PNP-Anti-Kidnaping Group led by Major Nestor Acebuche arrested the suspect afternoon of April 1, 2021 at their house in Gimamanay village.
AKG cops, together with the Iloilo Police Provincial Office-Provincial Special Operations Group (IPPO-PSOG) and Balasan Police Station, collared Dan by virtue of an arrest warrant for rape docketed as Criminal Case No. C-82-21.
Regional Trial Court Branch 14 Judge Faustino Valenzuela Roxas Jr. in Roxas City, Capiz issued the warrant on March 12, 2021.
Elambre said the AKG team had asked them to take custody of the suspect, as they could not present him in court yet because of the holiday.
The AKG operatives were supposed to bring him to court on Monday, April 5.
Reports said that Dan was accused for allegedly raping the 14-year-old daughter of his live-in partner in Pilar, Capiz.
It was gathered that Dan was still legally married and had four children with his wife.
As this developed, Elambre said the family has yet to decide whether to allow an autopsy on Dan’s remains.
