Our penal laws punish a person who injured or wounded another in accordance to the damage sustained by the victim. In order to determine the proper crime to be charged and the penalty to be imposed, one should look at and examine the way the injury was inflicted and the period of time upon which the victim or the injured person recovered
In this week’s edition, we will focus on the different crimes that a person who inflicted bodily harm against another may be charged.
First. Mutilation. The ordinary usage of the term “mutilation” is the deprivation of a limb or essential part of the body, with the operative expression being “deprivation”.[1] Under Article 262 of the Revised Penal Code states that the penalty of reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon any person who shall intentionally mutilate another by depriving him, either totally or partially, of some essential organ for reproduction. Any other intentional mutilation shall be punished by prision mayor in its medium and maximum periods.
Second. Serious physical injuries[2]. Serious physical injury is committed by a person who wounded, beat, or assaulted another, if: (1) If in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the injured person shall become insane, imbecile, impotent, or blind; (2) If in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the person injured shall have lost the use of speech or the power to hear or to smell, or shall have lost an eye, a hand, a foot, an arm, or a leg or shall have lost the use of any such member, or shall have become incapacitated for the work in which he was theretofore habitually engaged; (3) If in consequence of the physical injuries inflicted, the person injured shall have become deformed, or shall have lost any other part of his body, or shall have lost the use thereof, or shall have been ill or incapacitated for the performance of the work in which he was habitually engaged for a period of more than ninety days; and (4) if the physical injuries inflicted shall have caused the illness or incapacity for labor of the injured person for more than thirty days.
Third. Less serious physical injuries. Article 265 of the Revised Penal Code provides that any person who shall inflict upon another physical injuries not described in the preceding articles (Article 262 to 264), but which shall incapacitate the offended party for labor for ten days or more, or shall require medical attendance for the same period shall be guilty of less serious physical injuries and shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor.
Fourth. Slight physical injuries and maltreatment. The crime of slight physical injuries shall be punished: (1) By arresto menor when the offender has inflicted physical injuries which shall incapacitate the offended party for labor from one to nine days, or shall require medical attendance during the same period; (2) By arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos and censure when the offender has caused physical injuries which do not prevent the offended party from engaging in his habitual work nor require medical attendance; (3) By arresto menor in its minimum period or a fine not exceeding 50 pesos when the offender shall illtreat another by deed without causing any injury.
Just to add, the act of physically inflicting bodily harm or injury upon another may be elevated to Violence against Women and Children and be punished under Republic Act No. 9262 or Child Abuse under Republic Act No. 7610 depending upon the relationship of the offender to the offended party and the age of the offended party, respectively.
If the physical injury was committed by a person against her wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the offender has or had a sexual or dating relationship or with whom he has a common child, the act now falls within the ambit of Republic Act 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004.
If the bodily was inflicted against a minor or a person below eighteen (18) years of age, and the act of inflicting physical was made with the intent to debase and demean the intrinsic worth of a child, the same is now punishable under Republic Act no. 7610 or the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.
[1] G.R. No. 170723, March 03, 2008
[2] Article 263 of the RPC