Case Digest (G.R. No. L-13780)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Antonio Yu, G.R. No. L-13780, January 28, 1961, the Supreme Court En Banc, Per Curiam. The plaintiff-appellee is the People of the Philippines; the defendant-appellant is Antonio Yu alias Sostenes Yongco. The amended information charged appellant with the complex crime of rape with murder (Art. 335 in relation to Art. 248, Revised Penal Code), alleging that on or about November 14, 1957, in Davao City, the accused by violence and intimidation had carnal knowledge of Delia Abule, a six-year-old girl, and, to silence her when she cried out, attacked, assaulted and strangled her with abuse of superior strength, resulting in her death; the information also alleged aggravating circumstances of craft and evident premeditation.Appellant, with the assistance of counsel de oficio, pleaded guilty to the amended information but reserved the right to prove the mitigating circumstance of “lack of intent to commit so grave a wrong.” The Court of First Instance (CFI) of Davao, after hearing, found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the complex crime of rape with murder, appreciated two aggravating circumstances (evident premeditation and employment of craft) and two mitigating circumstances (plea of guilty before reception of evidence and lack of intent to commit so grave a wrong), set the aggravating and mitigating circumstances in compensation, and, applying Art. 48 of the Revised Penal Code, imposed the penalty for the more serious crime (murder under Art. 248) in its maximum period to death; it also ordered indemnity of P6,000 and costs.
The case reached the Court by automatic review. Counsel de oficio assigned three errors to the CFI judgment: (1) lack of jurisdiction because the complaint was not signed by the victim’s parents or...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the trial court have jurisdiction to try the case despite the complaint being signed only by the provincial fiscal and not by the parents or guardian of the victim?
- Did the accused commit a complex crime of rape with murder (i.e., were the rape and killing so connected and simultaneous as to constitute a complex crime under Article 48)?
- Was the imposition of the death penalty proper u...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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