Case Digest (G.R. No. 168273)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Monir Akbari, G.R. No. L-61686, March 12, 1984, First Division, Melencio-Herrera, J., writing for the Court. The plaintiff-appellee is The People of the Philippines; the defendant-appellant is Monir Akbari. The complainant was Epifania Arboleda, and her husband was Santos Arboleda.On the night of June 16, 1979, in Barrio Hijo, Municipality of Maco, Davao Province, four masked men entered the Arboledas' isolated house. The intruders ordered the couple to bring down their goats, threatened them with firearms, and before leaving fired two shots. Two men guarded Santos while the other two dragged Epifania into an adjoining room, stripped her, and sequentially had carnal knowledge of her while threatening to kill her if she resisted; the four assailants each allegedly raped her twice. The assailants warned the couple not to report the incident; the couple thereafter moved to another house and did not immediately go to the police.
The incident was allegedly divulged in September 1979 when Epifania’s son-in-law, Juan Toring, met appellant at a store and heard appellant, while drinking, boast that he and three companions had taken turns in raping Epifania. Prompted by that disclosure, Epifania reported the incident to the police on October 5, 1979. By then the other suspects had fled; only Monir Akbari remained and was arrested and later indicted.
At the trial before the Court of First Instance of Davao, the prosecution presented the Arboledas’ testimony, prior sworn statements and the testimony of Juan Toring. The defense presented denial by appellant, an alibi from employer Guillermo Bio who said appellant was with him near the copra dryer that night, and testimony by Ali Sam that Epifania had, when complaining earlier, named only three assailants and not appellant. The trial court found the Arboledas credible, considered the late reporting excused by fear and threats, credited Epifania’s identification of appellant by voice and face corroborated by Juan Toring’s testimony of appellant’s alleged admission, convicted appellant of rape, and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, ordered indemnity of P10,000, and costs.
Appellant appealed to the Supreme Court, assigning errors to the trial court’s findings on ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the trial court err in finding the complainant and her husband credible despite their delayed reporting of the alleged rape?
- Was the identification of appellant as one of the rapists sufficiently reliable and properly corroborated by Juan Toring’s testimony?
- Was the evidence as a whole sufficient to support appell...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)