A prominent doctor in Bacolod City was brutally killed at his house at Regent Pearl Subdivision in Barangay  Alijis, Bacolod City, at 10: 45 p.m. Thursday and the suspects are two teenagers, one of whom he came to know on Facebook.

Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, Bacolod police director, said yesterday that Dr. Andres Gumban, 63, a wealthy pulmonologist, sustained multiple stab wounds on the neck, chest and stomach, and died at the scene of the crime.

The death of the doctor, who owned several buildings and businesses in Bacolod City, came as a shock to the Bacolod medical community and his numerous patients, some of whom were waiting for him at his clinic yesterday morning.

Jonathan Maniego, Gumban's neighbor and a civilian agent of the Police Regional Office-6 Intelligence Unit, told the DAILY STAR that he heard a commotion at the house of the doctor at about 10:45 p.m.

 Maniego, who was armed with gun, said he went to the house of Gumban, which is adjacent to his residence, to see what was happening.

He then saw the suspects Fof Pascual Jr., 18,  of Barangay Tadlong, Sagay City, and a 16-year-old from Cadiz City, whose name is being withheld as he is a minor, and asked them to open the door of the house but they refused, Maniego said.

Maniego said he peeped through the window and saw bloodstains near the bathroom, prompting him to kick the door open, draw his gun and order the suspects to drop to the floor.

Minutes later, another neighbor, a certain “Ivan” arrived, and helped him chain the suspects and call for police help.

Station 7 commander Chief Insp. Levy Pangue said the doctor, who was wearing only shorts, was in a fetal position in the bathroom and was already dead when he arrived .

The 16-year-old suspect claimed Gumban, who had a bladed weapon, entered the bathroom while he was taking a bath and made sexual advances on him, causing him to fight back, wrest the bladed weapon and stab the doctor repeatedly.

The 16-year-old said he came to know Gumban on Facebook in March this year and met him last week.

On Thursday, Gumban picked up Pascual and the 16-year-old from the North Terminal in Brgy. Bata, Bacolod and took them to the ShoeMart mall for snacks, de la Paz said.

They then bought lechon manok (roasted chicken) and Red Horse beer and went to Gumban's house, the police director added.

Pascual, on the other hand, said that Thursday was the first time he met Gumban and he was at the living room watching television when the minor was stabbing the doctor.

Police investigation showed that Pascual is a suspect in the killing of a pregnant woman in Sagay City sometime in 2010, de la Paz said.

Jordan Reyes, the manager of one of Gumban's buildings, described the doctor as a good man who did not like trouble.

The suspect's reason for stabbing Gumban is very unbelievable because it is not in the character of the doctor to forcefully make sexual advances, Reyes also said.

De la Paz, however, said that they are also looking into the robbery angle as the doctor was wealthy and the killing could have been premeditated.

Pascual and the 16-year-old are both considered suspects in the stabbing, he also said.

The sister of the 16-year-old, who requested anonymity, said she could not believe that her brother, who is a scholar at their school, being a badminton varsity player, could kill a person and may have only been influenced by his peers.

She said she seldom sees her brother because she is married, while he is living with their grandparents. She admitted that her brother lacked parental guidance as their parents had separated and their father works in Manila as a plumber.

The doctor is said to have another house aside from the place where he was killed.*CPG/APN

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