Art. 251. Death caused in a tumultuous affray.— When, while several persons, not composing groups organized for the common purpose of assaulting and attacking each other reciprocally, quarrel and assault each other in a confused and tumultuous manner, and in the course of the affray someone is killed, and it cannot be ascertained who actually killed the deceased, but the person or persons who inflicted serious physical injuries can be identified, such person or persons shall be punished by prision mayor.
If it cannot be determined who inflicted the serious physical injuries on the deceased, the penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed upon all those who shall have used violence upon the person of the victim.
ELEMENTS:
1. That there be several
persons; and
2. That they did not
compose groups organized for
the common purpose of assaulting and attacking each other reciprocally;
3. That these several persons quarreled
and assaulted one another in
a confused and tumultuous manner;
4. That someone was killed in the course of the affray;
5. That it cannot
be ascertained who actually
killed the deceased;
6. That the person or persons who inflicted serious physical injuries or who used violence can be identified
IF KILLER IS KNOWN
•
If the killer is known, even if the fighting is tumultuous, the crime is
homicide or murder. What is contemplated in this article is that the
particular killer is never known that is why those who inflicted serious
physical injuries on the victim are the ones made liable for his death.
WHO ARE LIABLE FOR DEATH
IN TUMULTUOUS AFFRAY?
1. The
person or persons who inflicted the serious physical injuries are liable
2. If
it is not known who inflicted the serious physical injuries on the deceased,
all the persons who used violence upon the person of the victim are
liable, but with lesser liability.
•
The serious physical injuries, if inflicted by one of the participants,
should not be the cause of death of deceased.
•
Those who used violence upon the person of the victim are liable for
death caused in a tumultuous affray only “if it cannot be determined who
inflicted the serious physical injuries on the deceased.”
SEVERAL PERSONS NOT
COMPOSING GROUPS ORGANIZED...
• Tumultuous
affray exists when at least four persons took part.
•
The affray must be tumultuous and not concerted. When there are two
identified groups of men who assaulted each other, then there is no tumultuous
affray.
PERSON
KILLED
• The person killed in the course of the
affray need not be one of the participants in the
affray.
CASES
•
In a case where although there is a group of four and a group of three on
the one hand which seem to form two groups, and a person died but it did not
appear who inflicted the wound, such would fall under this article because
there was no unity of purpose and intention among the persons who used
violence.
•
After a free-for-all fight, one of the participants died the next day.
There was no convincing evidence that it was the knife which the accused
wielded upon the body of the deceased. All the wounds sustained by the deceased
were inflicted by protagonists not composing groups. It was held that the
accused, having used violence upon the person of the decease in wielding the
knife, was liable under the second paragraph of Art. 251.
Source:
Luis B. Reyes, The Revised Penal Code, Book II, 2001 ed.
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