CEBU CITY, Philippines — A police official here said they will be investigating if there was foul play in the death of a Person Under Police Custody (PUPC) at the Pardo Police Station in Barangay Inayawan.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, the deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office, said the body of Emerald Aban, 26, a resident of Sitio Capaculan, Barangay Tisa, will undergo an autopsy to find out if there was foul play involved in her death inside the facility restroom last Sunday morning, March 13, 2022.
According to the report from the police, the doctor who checked revealed that the cause of her death was sudden cardiac arrest.
But Parilla ordered the body to undergo autopsy examination to know if there could be foul play involved.
Parilla said that Aban was arrested on Saturday, March 12, for possession of illegal drugs. The next day, Parilla said she became unruly when she was placed inside the facility. This forced police to transfer other detainees to another facility to avoid further commotion.
According to their report, it was 9:20 a.m. on Sunday, March 13, when Aban became unruly inside the custodial facility. Around 9:59 a.m., Patrolman Walden Luchavez found the said PUPC inside the restroom of the facility already unresponsive.
With that, Luchavez immediately called for help from the Barangay Inayawan Quick Response Team and immediately brought the detainee to the Cebu City Medical Center. However, at 10:48 am, the physician in charge declared her dead on arrival.
Parilla said that Aban had bruises on her body. But he said she might have gotten this during her arrest.
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/bmjo