- Petitioner
- People
- Respondent
- Co Cho
- Citation
- G.R. No. 44370
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- En Banc
- Ponente
- Avanceña, C.J.
- Decided
- January 11, 1936
Whether the crime committed was theft or robbery under the Revised Penal Code
Summary
The accused Co Cho was charged with robbery of articles and money totaling P33.50 from Hong Liong's residence on Magdalena Street, Manila. The Court of First Instance convicted him of theft, but the Supreme Court En Banc modified this to robbery. The key legal issue was whether entry through an open window constituted the elements required for robbery versus simple theft. The Supreme Court held that since the door was locked from within and the accused entered through a window not intended for entrance (as he admitted during police investigation), this constituted robbery under Article 299(a)(1) of the Revised Penal Code. The court considered the aggravating circumstance of recidivism and imposed a penalty of one year minimum to three years, six months and twenty-one days of prision correccional maximum. This 1936 decision established important precedent distinguishing theft from robbery in Philippine criminal jurisprudence, specifically regarding unlawful entry through windows not intended for entrance.