Police looking for 3 suspects in alleged hazing death of San Beda student

Published August 1, 2012 12:19pm

(Updated 4:40 p.m.) Police are looking for three suspects in the alleged hazing death of Marc Andre Marcos, a San Beda law student, a report on GMA News TV said Wednesday. Among those tagged as suspects is Gian Veluz, son of the owner of a farm in Dasmariñas, Cavite, where the hazing allegedly took place. The two house helpers who brought Marcos to the hospital are also suspects, according to the report. The Cavite Police are scheduled to file a complaint against Veluz and the two house helpers this morning, the report added. Veluz, a third-year law student at San Beda Alabang, was earlier reported by the Cavite police as a fourth-year law student. Police said the statements given by the two house helpers were misleading. "This office is indeed convinced that mauling incident as reported by Soledad Sanda was misleading to cover up the ongoing investigation relative to the death of the victim and to protect her employer’s son Gian Angelo Veluz," said a report issued by the office of Cavite Police director Senior Superintendent John Bulalacao. According to the report, further verification in the social networking websites showed Veluz is a member of Lex Leonum Fraternitas.

Bulalacao said that apart from being a member of the fraternity, a student of law at San Beda, and his family's ownership of the farm, Veluz is considered a suspect because he was positively identified as among those who brought the victim to the hospital by the security guard.

The two house helpers as well as around 20 people who were reportedly at the farm are also being considered as suspects, Bulalacao said.

"Ang kinoconsider pa naming na suspects yung 2 pang babae, and of course yung iba pang kasamahan na sinasabi duon na nandun sa farm nila between 20 and 24 persons pero hindi naming sigurado kung yung 20 o 24 are all suspects dahil maaaring may neophytes din doon," he said.

According to a police report from the Cavite Provincial Police Office, one of the farm workers who requested anonymity said that on July 29 at around eight in the morning, Veluz and a group of teenagers arrived at the farm on board five to six cars, and stayed until night.

The report said that Sanda and two unidentified companions brought Marcos to the hospital. Bulalacao earlier said Sanda appeared with a lawyer when she was called in for clarification on Monday, but she is now missing. Marcos was brought to the De La Salle Medical Center (DLSUMC) in Dasmariñas on Sunday night. DLSUMC director Dr. Gary Carlos said in an earlier report that the victim had hematoma, and died on Monday at about 3 p.m. Marcos' body was brought to the Philippine National Police crime laboratory for autopsy on Tuesday. Marcos was last seen by his family on Saturday, when he said he was going to work on a class project. His family believes he underwent initiation rites by the Lex Leonum fraternity composed of San Beda law students. — Carmela Lapeña /LBG, GMA News

Tags: hazing, sanbedacollege, marcandremarcos