Police arrested a farmer for allegedly hacking a four-year-old boy in Barangay Pautao, Bacuag, Surigao del Norte.
Investigation said the victim was playing outside his house on Tuesday, October 8, when the 42-year-old suspect hacked him with a 16-inch bladed weapon locally known as a "sundang."
Police Col. Nilo Texon, officer-in-charge of the Surigao del Norte Police Provincial Office, said the victim’s mother noticed her son missing and began looking for him.
Neighbors and relatives joined the search and discovered the boy’s body in a grassy area behind the suspect’s house.
Police arrested the suspect and recovered the murder weapon in a hot-pursuit operation in a mountainous area in Barangay Pautao.
The victim sustained three hack wounds in the head and three in the left arm, police said.
Texon cited the Bacuag police for arresting the suspect.
“The SDN PNP will not tolerate this kind of heinous crime against a minor. We will continue to implement our stringent campaign to ensure that the people of Surigao del Norte are safe and secure,” he said.
"I commend the police personnel of Bacuag MPS for their immediate response and the swift arrest of the suspect. His arrest will help bring the justice the victim's family deserves,” Texon added.
The suspect and the murder weapon are now under the custody of the Bacuag Municipal Police Station for proper disposition.