ZAMBOANGA CITY – A local court has sentenced a man after he was found guilty for serious physical injuries for punching a political supporter of popular Zamboanga Mayor Beng Climaco.
The court said Muktar Bungkac Arasad was guilty of punching Kaiser Halid Hussin inside a polling precinct during the May 13 midterm elections. Judge Carlo Martin Alcala, of the MTCC Branch 3, handed down the 5-page decision on October 2 and a copy of this was only made public recently by Hussin.
The judge also ordered Arasad to pay Hussin P50,000 for civil indemnity; P68, 623.09 for actual damages and P10,000 more for moral damages. The attack occurred after Arasad brought food to his wife, who was then chairperson of the board of election inspectors.
In his complaint, Hussin said he was talking to another poll watcher when Arasad confronted him about the photos he allegedly took using a cell phone. Hussin showed the phone to Arasad to prove that he did not take any pictures of him, but Arasad suddenly punched him below the jaw and he fell to the ground from a platform. The fall, Hussin said, fractured his elbow aside from the contusions and abrasion he suffered as a result from the attack. Because of the seriousness of his injuries, Hussin needed medical attention for 3 months and spent a huge amount for medicines and other hospital bills.
Court records show that Arasad admitted to the crime and claimed self defense alleging that Hussin attacked him first. Arasad even presented 2 witnesses, including a relative; however, both of them admitted “failing to have observed how the physical confrontation started or what the reason was.”
The court trashed Ararad’s claim of self defense. Judge Alcala said “self defense cannot be justifiably appreciated when it is uncorroborated by independent and competent evidence or when it is extremely doubtful by itself.”
Arasad, according to the judge, admitted how he concluded from Hussin’s supposed taking of pictures that he would use these to report electoral anomalies, such as bribery. That dangerous line of thinking impelled him to hit Hussin, according to the court. Two women, who witnessed the assault, also testified in favor of Hussin, saying, it was Arasad who first hit Hussin.
“Evidence shows that as a result of the punching, Hussin fell from the ground floor platform and a few meters below. Whether or not the resultant injury was by praeter intentionem, Arasad must be held answerable. The fracture Hussin sustained entailed long term physical therapy for complete restoration,” Judge Alcala said in his decision.
He convicted Arasad to “suffer imprisonment of one month and 1 day of arresto mayor as minimum, to one year and 1 day of prision correccional as maximum.” (BCPR)
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