18. US v Punsalan G.R. No. L-7539 November 5, 1912 guilt of the accused of a higher offense.

CARSON, J. DECISION: guilty of the crime of serious physical injuries as defined and
penalized in paragraph 3 of A416 of the PC, and sentenced him to 1y 8m 21d of
CASE: Appeal from a judgment of the CFI Tarlac PC + pay the costs +indemnity: P13.

FACTS:
August 11, 1910: Ciriaco Punsalan attacked Juan de Jesus with a penknife injuring
3 fingers of Jesus' left hand. The fingers have become useless.
The motive was that Punsalan suspected that de Jesus knew about the abduction
of the former's sister.

CFI Province of Tarlac found de Jesus guilty of the crime of serious physical
injuries as defined and penalized in paragraph 2 of A416 of the PC, and
sentenced him to 3y 6m 21d of PC.

Hence this appeal.

WON the crime committed is defined and penalized in 2 A416 (now A263)
of the PC.
Held: No.
The crime with which the defendant and appellant was charged in the
information is that defined in 3 of A416 of the Penal Code, and that, even if the
evidence of record were sufficient to establish the guilt of the accused of the
higher offense defined and penalized in 2 of that article, the trial court,
nevertheless, erred in convicting the defendant of a higher offense than that
with which he was charged in the information upon which he was tried.

The fingers of the hand are not principal members, and it is evident, therefore,
that without an allegation that as a result of the loss of the use of several fingers
the use of the hand itself had been lost, the information charges the infliction of
injuries of the class defined in paragraph 2 of article 416.

Since an accused person is entitled to be advised at the outset of the proceedings

as to the nature and character of the offense with which he is charged, a
conviction cannot be sustained for a higher or different offense than that
charged, even though the proof adduced at the trial be sufficient to establish the