Suicidal teacher faces charges

MANILA, Philippines - Behind bars and facing a couple of criminal cases, online English teacher Joseph Fedelin said yesterday he regrets that he poured muriatic acid on his estranged lover and attempted to jump from his 16th floor condominium unit.

Asked whether he intends to visit his ex-boyfriend, Jefferson Quitalig, at the Capitol Medical Center, Fedelin was teary-eyed and responded that he wanted to apologize in person.

“I still love him but he might not want to take me back,” Fedelin said.

Still nursing a wound he inflicted upon himself when he slit his left wrist, his right hand held a rosary, saying he had been continuously praying after the incident Monday morning. Fedelin said he also fears losing his job.

The city fiscal recommended that Fedelin be charged for serious physical injuries but said the complaint for alarm and scandal be investigated further.

Fedelin went berserk Monday after Quitalig, a call center agent, broke up with him. Reports stated that the two had been fighting after Fedelin found out Quitalig was having an affair with another man.

The teacher, who talked to reporters while in detention at the Quezon City Police District-Station 10, said there were errors in the reports that came out. He did not specify the errors.

In a report attached to the complaint against Fedelin, Dr. Maria Corazon Bello said Quitalig suffered multiple physical injuries due to chemical burns, among them multiple abrasions on Quitalig’s face and corneal abrasion with conjunctivitis.