Missed breaks for teen accused of poisoning classmate
By DJ Yap
Inquirer
Last updated 10:32pm (Mla time) 11/13/2006
AT 16 GOING on 17 in a few days, Peter (not his real name) is far too young to be losing sleep over missed opportunities.
But as one of two teenagers accused of poisoning a classmate at the
Philippine Science High School, he seems to be losing one chance in a
lifetime after another.
For one, he will not be able to leave the country to enroll in
either of the two American universities that had awarded him a
scholarship, one of them the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Last month, Judge Ma. Lourdes Giron of Quezon City Regional Trial
Court Branch 102 issued a hold departure order against Peter, based on
a petition filed by the complainant.
The court said the order dated October 26 was not an infringement on
Peter’s right to travel, but rather a way to ensure that he would
remain under the court’s jurisdiction.
Private prosecutor Eugenio Villareal hailed the ruling, saying it
“provided a sense of security” to the complainant since it ensured that
the respondent would remain subject to the coercive powers of the court.
He earlier raised concerns that Peter was capable of fleeing to the
United States, since he had applied for and had been accepted to MIT
and Colgate University, a private college based in New York.
Peter, along with a fellow student, stands accused of pouring a vial
of mercurous nitrate into a water jug, from which a schoolmate drank,
causing her to sustain severe internal injuries, on February 24.
As a result of the poisoning, the victim, Marie Angelynne Fabro, now
17, had to undergo seven dialysis sessions at the National Kidney and
Transplant Institute, for which she needed 11 blood transfusions.
Doctors are still monitoring her for traces of mercury in the
bloodstream, which may manifest at any time and attack her liver,
kidneys, or other internal organs.
Peter’s arraignment was scheduled Monday, but it was postponed after
his lawyers asked the court to reconsider its order dismissing their
petition to defer the proceedings.
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ito talaga ang unfortunate event. during my time, the worst cases were limited to theft and bullying, the occasional vandalism cases and acts of lasciviousness. high-tech na talaga ang mga bata ngayon. sayang naman, he totally f*cked up his chances of getting into MIT. oh, well. he sullied the good name of my alma mater. ganyan talaga kung may felonious act, dapat may penalties na katapat.
eeek, Crim! *nosebleed*
