Facts:
On January 29, 1913, the Supreme Court resolved an appeal by
Panglima Indanan from a judgment convicting him of
murder and sentencing him to be
hanged. At the time of the killing of the deceased, Indanan acted as
headman of Parang. The record showed that on
March 24, 1912, he sent
Induk to bring
Sariol to his house. On the following day, Induk brought Sariol to Indanan’s house, and Indanan ordered the witnesses
Akiran and
Suhuri to
tie Sariol, which they did in Indanan’s presence while Indanan lay on a bed in the room at about
4:30 in the afternoon. Sariol remained tied until night, when Indanan, in the presence of several witnesses, ordered that Sariol be taken to the
Chinese cemetery and killed. Indanan asserted that he had an order from the
governor authorizing the killing. He further instructed Akiran to be present at the killing and to
aid in killing Sariol, and ordered Akiran to take Indanan’s bolo so that he could assist. The killing was carried out at an isolated spot far from the road and about
200 yards from the nearest house. Witnesses testified that the first blow was struck with the bolo by
Kalyakan, and Akiran assisted thereafter; the deceased was killed while his hands were tied behind his back. After the killing,
Unding told Indanan that Sariol had been killed, and Indanan responded approvingly and appeared pleased. The evidence also established beyond question that Indanan wielded
powerful influence over the witnesses and that any order issued by him had the force and efficacy of
physical coercion. Witnesses testified that they did not hesitate to follow his orders because he was the headman of the governor, that they feared that if he became angry he might kill them, and that they obeyed because they were told it was by order of the governor and that the headman had a
warrant; one witness stated he would not have killed the person if the order had come from someone else. The lower court treated Indanan as criminally liable as a
principal by inducement, based on these facts, and the Supreme Court affirmed.
Issues:
Whether
Panglima Indanan should be held liable as a
principal by inducement under
Article 13, paragraph 2, of the Penal Code for the killing committed by others in obedience to his orders and representations.
Ruling:
Ratio:
Doctrine: