A minor arrested for attacking a 22-year-old college student in her room in Virac the other week was allegedly addicted to “talpak” or e-sabong, investigators reportedly found.
The information, however, cannot be confirmed as the Virac Municipal Police Station has yet to conclude its probe of the incident.
According to the initial police report, the victim, Angel Bagadiong Sorra, 22, a graduating student at CatSU College of Business Administration, was alone in their house in Bigaa shortly before 4PM of May 25, 2024.
After using the bathroom, she opened the door and was surprised to see that her neighbor, the minor, was also inside her bedroom.
The suspect instantly struck her with a metal pipe several times, the police said.
Sorra tried to fight back but could not overcome his power so she pretended to be unconscious with the teenaged perpetrator finally leaving the room.
When she realized he was gone, she stood up as soon as she regained her strength and went outside the house to ask for help.
Bleeding from wounds on her head, the victim was rushed by her cousin, Ramy Sorra, to the nearest hospital, Catanduanes Doctors Hospital, Inc. (CDHI), where she was deemed in critical condition.
At 4PM after the police station received the report, a team led by PMSg Aldwin Panti was dispatched to Bigaa where the 14-year-old suspect, a Grade 8 student, was found hiding inside a box in the bedroom beside the victim’s room.
The minor was turned over to her parents and then referred to the Virac Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) for counselling and intervention.
The boy was brought to the provincial shelter facility but was later released to the custody of his parents.
Meanwhile, the victim is now in a stable condition at CDHI where she underwent an operation performed by a consulting surgeon from the mainland.
According to reports, the hospital required her family to advance half of the P200,000 cost of the operation.
Governor Joseph Cua went to the hospital and gave P100,000 to her family, enabling the operation to proceed.
TGP Rep. Jose Teves Jr. also assured that her hospitalization bills would be covered by the Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIP) Program.
CatSU officials also launched a fund-raising drive on Sorra’s behalf, with the donations turned over to the family last week.