En Banc
Carson, March 19, 1910
Topic: Mental element (Mens rea) - Deliberate intent (Dolo) - Mistake of fact
Facts:
- The defendant Ah Chong was a cook at "Officers' quarters, No. 27," Fort McKinley, Rizal Province
- Pascual Gualberto, deceased, works at the same place as a house boy or muchacho
- "Officers' quarters, No. 27" was a detached house some 40 meters from the nearest building
- 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
- 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; the 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
- On the night of August 14, 1908, at about 10:00 pm, the defendant was suddenly awakened by some trying to force open the door of the room
- He 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
- The defendant warned the intruder "If you enter the room, I will kill you."
- Seizing a common kitchen knife which he kept under his pillow, the defendant struck out wildly at the intruder (when he entered the room) who turned out to be his roommate Pascual
- Pascual ran out upon the porch heavily wounded
- Recognizing Pascual, the defendant called to his employers who slept in the next house and ran back to his room to secure bandages to bind up Pascual's wounds
- Pascual died from the effects of the wound the following day
- The roommates appear to have been in friendly and amicable terms prior to the incident, and had an understanding that when either returned at night, he should knock that the door and acquaint his companion with his identity
- The defendant alleges that he kept the knife under his pillow as personal protection because of repeated robberies in Fort McKinley
- Defendant admitted to stabbing his roommate, but said that he did it under the impression that Pascual was "a ladron (thief)" because he forced open the door of their sleeping room, despite the defendant's warnings
- Defendant was found guilty by the trial court of simple homicide, with extenuating (mitigating) circumstances, and sentenced to 6 years and 1 day presidio mayor, the minimum penalty prescribed by law
Issue:
- Whether or not the defendant can be held criminally responsible
Holding:
- No.
Ratio:
- By reason of a mistake as to the facts, the defendant did an act for which he would be exempt from criminal liability if the facts were as he supposed them to be (i.e. if Pascual was actually a thief, he will not be criminally liable/responsible because it would be self-defense), but would constitute the crime of homicide or assassination if the actor had known the true state of the facts (i.e. if he knew that it was actually Pascual, he would be guilty of homicide/assassination)
- The defendant's ignorance or mistake of fact was not due to negligence or bad faith
- "The act itself foes not make man guilty unless his intention were so"
- The essence of the offense is the wrongful intent, without which it cannot exist
- "The guilt of the accused must depend on the circumstances as they appear to him."
- If one has reasonable cause to believe the existence of facts which will justify a killing, if without fault or carelessness he does believe them, he is legally guiltless of the homicide
- The defendant was doing no more than exercise his legitimate right of self-defense
- He cannot be said to have been guilty of negligence or recklessness or even carelessness in falling into his mistake as to the facts
RTC's decision is reversed. The defendant is acquitted.
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