Boy, 5, fights for life

After blade attack in Navotas

MANILA, Philippines — The five-year-old boy from Navotas who sustained deep slashes at the hands of a 20-year-old man on Tuesday is still inside the intensive care unit, police said.

Navotas police chief Col. Renante Pinuela said the boy was scheduled for operation last night at the Tondo Medical Center in Manila.

He cited medical findings that the boy is suffering from hematoma and skull fractures.

“He is still in a critical condition, but his vital signs are stable,” Pinuela told The STAR in a phone interview yesterday.

“We are thankful that he survived the attack,” he added.

The boy has been fighting for his life since Tuesday afternoon, when authorities found him at 5:45 p.m. under the North Luzon Expressway ramp along R-10 in Sitio Puting Bato, Barangay NBBS Proper.

Police said the boy had lacerations in the neck and stomach as well as bruises in the face when emergency responders rushed him to the hospital.

Pinuela said the 20-year-old suspect, identified only as Raven, was captured on Holy Wednesday, after the boy identified him three times from the photos investigators showed.

Raven has refused to cooperate with investigators or talk to the media, he added.

Police have charged Raven with frustrated murder before the Navotas prosecutor’s office.