‘Serial rapist’ caught in hospital

MANILA, Philippines - Five months after Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan ordered the arrest of a serial rapist preying on women in the Bukid Area, the police caught a suspect after he broke into a house and killed its owner Saturday night.

Police officers who arrested Albert Biol, 42, at the Bernardino Hospital checked police records and found that he was wanted for several rape cases under another name, Daniel Mercado.

Ten women have gone to the police station as of yesterday and identified Biol as the man who raped them at gunpoint, Caloocan police chief Senior Superintendent Bartolome Bustamante said.

The women appealed to Malapitan, who assured them that the city government will help them get justice.

Bustamante said the rapes were spaced only days apart and they are waiting for more women to file charges against Biol.  

He said investigators checked hospitals after finding evidence that Benjamin Alhambra, 32, fought back and wounded the man who killed him.

Biol was being treated at the hospital for head injuries when police officers found him Sunday morning.

According to Bustamante, Biol reportedly broke into a house in Bankers Village at past 7 p.m. Saturday. Alhambra hit him with a blunt object before Biol shot and killed him.

Though bleeding from his head wound, Biol managed to ransack Alhambra’s home and drove away with the victim’s vehicle.

Police officers confiscated Biol’s gun and several cell phones believed to have been stolen from Alhambra.