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The police chief of a Philippine city was killed during a raid in an illegal cockfight when one of the sharp metal blades carried by the birds severed an artery in his leg and he bled to death.
The incident took place on Monday in Madugang village in northern Samar province, where police have been cracking down on illegal cockfighting because the gatherings are blamed for helping spread the coronavirus.
Lieutenant Christian Bolok, who was in his 30s, was trying to grab a rooster when one of his hooks, the steel blades attached to his legs, severed his femoral artery, according to provincial governor Edwin Ongchuan.
“He was trying to confiscate the roosters,” Ongchuan said, adding that Bolok or his companions had tried to stop his blood loss by tying a cloth around his leg, but they may have applied the tourniquet in the wrong place.
Officers arrested three farmers who had been participating in the illegal fight and were searching for three others. Seven roosters, a pair of grapples and 550 pesos (£ 8) in cash were seized in the raid, according to a police report.
Ongchuan and his local government praised Bolok’s dedication and determination to enforce safeguards against coronavirus in northern Samar, and the governor had provided financial support to Bolok’s family, authorities said.
“We mourn with our provincial police for the loss of such a committed and selfless officer, whose application of the quarantine regulations of our community has cost him his life,” Ongchuan said.
Cockfighting is a popular pastime and gambling sport in many rural areas of the Philippines. Some fights are licensed and legal, but many are not. All of these events are currently banned as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus.
The Philippines has recorded more than 375,000 infections since the pandemic began, the second highest in Southeast Asia and at least 7,114 deaths.
