Scribd
Upload
1K views1 page

US vs. Ah Chong (15 Phil 499) (Case Digest)

The defendant Ah Chong, who worked as a cook, awoke to someone trying to force open the door to the small room he shared with his roommate. In the dark, Ah Chong believed an intruder was entering to rob or harm them. He yelled a warning and then struck out with a kitchen knife, wounding his roommate who had been at the door. Though his roommate died from the wounds, the court found Ah Chong believed he faced imminent danger and acted in self-defense, acquitting him of murder.

Uploaded by

MarisseAnne Coquilla
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
1K views1 page

US vs. Ah Chong (15 Phil 499) (Case Digest)

The defendant Ah Chong, who worked as a cook, awoke to someone trying to force open the door to the small room he shared with his roommate. In the dark, Ah Chong believed an intruder was entering to rob or harm them. He yelled a warning and then struck out with a kitchen knife, wounding his roommate who had been at the door. Though his roommate died from the wounds, the court found Ah Chong believed he faced imminent danger and acted in self-defense, acquitting him of murder.

Uploaded by

MarisseAnne Coquilla
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee,

vs.
AH CHONG, defendant-appellant.
Facts:
The defendant, Ah Chong, was employed as a cook at "Officers' quarters, No. 27," Fort Mc Kinley, Rizal Province,
and at the same place Pascual Gualberto, deceased, was employed as a house boy or muchacho. "Officers' quarters
No. 27" as a detached house situates some 40 meters from the nearest building, and in August, 19087, was
occupied solely as an officers' mess or club. No one slept in the house except the two servants, who jointly
occupied a small room toward the rear of the building, the door of which opened upon a narrow porch running
along the side of the building, by which communication was had with the other part of the house. This porch was
covered by a heavy growth of vines for its entire length and height. The door of the room was not furnished with a
permanent bolt or lock, and occupants, as a measure of security, had attached a small hook or catch on the inside
of the door, and were in the habit of reinforcing this somewhat insecure means of fastening the door by placing
against it a chair. In the room there was but one small window, which, like the door, opened on the porch. Aside
from the door and window, there were no other openings of any kind in the room.
On the night of August 14, 1908, at about 10 o'clock, the defendant, who had received for the night, was suddenly
awakened by some trying to force open the door of the room. He sat up in bed and called out twice, "Who is
there?" He heard no answer and was convinced by the noise at the door that it was being pushed open by someone
bent upon forcing his way into the room. Due to the heavy growth of vines along the front of the porch, the room
was very dark, and the defendant, fearing that the intruder was a robber or a thief, leaped to his feet and called
out. "If you enter the room, I will kill you." At that moment he was struck just above the knee by the edge of the
chair which had been placed against the door. In the darkness and confusion the defendant thought that the blow
had been inflicted by the person who had forced the door open, whom he supposed to be a burglar, though in the
light of after events, it is probable that the chair was merely thrown back into the room by the sudden opening of
the door against which it rested. Seizing a common kitchen knife which he kept under his pillow, the defendant
struck out wildly at the intruder who, it afterwards turned out, was his roommate, Pascual. Pascual ran out upon
the porch and fell down on the steps in a desperately wounded condition, followed by the defendant, who
immediately recognized him in the moonlight. Seeing that Pascual was wounded, he called to his employers who
slept in the next house, No. 28, and ran back to his room to secure bandages to bind up Pascual's wounds.
There had been several robberies in Fort McKinley not long prior to the date of the incident just described, one of
which took place in a house in which the defendant was employed as cook; and as defendant alleges, it was
because of these repeated robberies he kept a knife under his pillow for his personal protection.
Issue: WON he is guilty of murder
Held: A careful examination of the facts as disclosed in the case at bar convinces us that the defendant Chinaman
struck the fatal blow alleged in the information in the firm belief that the intruder who forced open the door of his
sleeping room was a thief, from whose assault he was in imminent peril, both of his life and of his property and of
the property committed to his charge; that in view of all the circumstances, as they must have presented
themselves to the defendant at the time, he acted in good faith, without malice, or criminal intent, in the belief
that he was doing no more than exercising his legitimate right of self-defense; that had the facts been as he
believed them to be he would have been wholly exempt from criminal liability on account of his act; and that he
can not be said to have been guilty of negligence or recklessness or even carelessness in falling into his mistake as
to the facts, or in the means adopted by him to defend himself from the imminent danger which he believe
threatened his person and his property and the property under his charge.
The judgment of conviction and the sentence imposed by the trial court should be reversed, and the defendant
acquitted of the crime with which he is charged and his bail bond exonerated, with the costs of both instance de
oficio. So ordered.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy