By CESAR JOLITO III

A 33-year-old farmer was arrested just hours following the alleged rape-slay of a 10-year-old girl in a sugarcane plantation at Barangay Linantuyan in Negros Oriental’s Guihulngan City on Tuesday, September 30.

The Police Regional Office in the Negros Island Region arrested alias “Wil,” a resident of the said barangay, at around 3:10 p.m., barely seven hours after the victim’s body was found in Sitio Pinasagan.

Investigators said the girl was found unclothed and bearing multiple stab wounds in the middle of the plantation at around 8:30 a.m.

A knife believed to have been used in the crime was also recovered.

Police immediately secured the area and coordinated with the City Health Office for a post-mortem examination.

Witnesses possibly identified the suspect, prompting law enforcers to launch a hot pursuit operation that led to his arrest.

He is detained at Guihulngan City Police Station and faces appropriate charges.

Meanwhile, PRO-NIR Director Brigadier General Arnold Thomas Ibay condemned the crime, describing it as a “heinous and unacceptable act of violence against a child.”

“We share the grief of the victim’s family and stand with the community in demanding justice. PRO-NIR is committed to exhausting all means to bring the suspect to justice and ensure that such atrocities have no place in Negros Island,” Ibay said in a statement.

He assured the victim’s family that appropriate criminal complaints are being prepared and that the full force of the law will be applied against the suspect.

The police also called on the public to remain vigilant and report any incidents of violence, stressing that the protection of women and children remains a top priority in their campaign for peace and order./CJ, WDJ