Japanese man chokes to death while eating bread

MANILA, Philippines—A 69-year-old Japanese national died in his house in Cebu City Thursday after allegedly being choked with the bread he was eating, police said.

Hirotaka Kato, was found dead around 5:40 p.m. Thursday sitting in a chair in front of the television inside his two-storey house in Sto. Tomas Village, Tubuan Sur in Danao City, Cebu, Police Officer 2 Phil Restauro said Friday.

Initial investigation revealed that his 27-year-old live-in partner, identified as Revelyn Rica, gave her a loaf bread and a glass of water before she left their house around 5 p.m. to buy something from a nearby store, Restauro said.

Left inside the house were Rica’s brother, identified as John Rica, who was at the kitchen, and the couple’s five-year-old son, he said.

“Nakita na lang niya [John] hindi na humihinga at gumagalaw [Kato]. So, tinawag niya iyong ate niya [Revelyn] sa labas [He (John) just saw that Kato wasn’t breathing and moving anymore so he called her sister (Revelyn) outside],” he said.

Rattled, Revelyn failed to immediately bring Kato, who had a history of stoke, to the hospital, Restauro said.

Investigators were still waiting for the autopsy examination to confirm the cause of Kato’s death.