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A man’s family says he died after having to pay a fine as a fine for breaking the evening clock.
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The 28-year-old is said to have been stopped by local authorities in the Philippines while buying water.
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Human rights advocates have criticized other punishment for COVID-19 offenders in the country.
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A man is said to have died in the Philippines after being forced to do 300 squat exercises as punishment for violating the country’s strict COVID-19 rules of conduct.
Darren Manaog Penaredondo, 28, was buying water at a local store in Cavite province, south of Manila, last Thursday when he was stopped by local authorities for violating the 6 p.m.
A family member, Adrian Lucena, said on Facebook that Penaredondo and others caught breaking the curfew were forced to do 100 squats exercises as punishment.
According to Lucena, the group was told to do the squats, but if one of the groups is not synchronized, the group will have to repeat the entire series. Lucena said Penaredondo and the others eventually did 300 reps.
The man’s resident friend, Reichelyn Balce, told Rappler that Penaredondo was in a lot of pain when he returned on Friday morning.
“When he returned around 08:00, he was assisted by another curfew regulator,” she said. “I asked if he was beaten, but he just smiled. It was clear he was in a lot of pain. ‘
Balce added that Penaredondo was struggling to walk and that he was crawling on the floor because his knees and thighs ached. Later that day, he had convulsions and seizures.
“His face turned purple, and his heart stopped beating,” Balce said.
A local official, Rodolfo Cruz Jr., confirmed in a telephone interview with Rappler that Penaredondo was detained by town guards and transferred to police Thursday. Lieutenant-Colonel Marlo Nillo Solero, the police chief in the city of General Trias, denied the family’s allegations, but told Rappler that “there is no such punishment”.
“Instead, we hold lectures,” Solero told Rappler.
Mayor Trias’ General Antonio Ferrer said in a Facebook post on Monday that the matter was being investigated and that he was in contact with the grieving family.
“We immediately ordered the police chief to conduct a fair investigation into the incident and the alleged torture,” Ferrer said. “I hope we can immediately clarify the events and give the family peace of mind.”
Human rights advocates have identified numerous reports of abuse in the Philippines regarding COVID offenders.
A Human Rights Watch report cites cases in which police arrested people in dog kennels and forced other offenders of COFID-19 curfew to sit for hours under the blazing afternoon sun. In one case, a Manila man was killed after trying to avoid a COVID-19 checkpoint.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned citizens during a televised speech on Thursday not to defy lock-in rules.
“I will not hesitate. My instructions are to the police and army, as well as town officials, if there are problems, or if there is violence and your lives are in danger, shoot them dead,” he said.
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