Thirteen police officers have been relieved of duty after a man died in their custody, with an autopsy report indicating he was suffocated, according to police officials.

The victim — identified as John Paul Magat — was arrested at a convenience store after he allegedly began destroying items in a stock room. An employee called the police, who arrived and attempted to subdue him.

“The victim was trying to break free, so our police officers restrained him to put handcuffs on him and take him to the substation,” said Pasay Police chief Col. Joselio de Sesto.

Hours after he was detained, Magat asked to be taken to a hospital because he was having difficulty breathing.

“At 9:23 p.m., the victim sought help to be taken to the hospital,” De Sesto said. “He was brought to the hospital, where he passed away.”

An autopsy revealed the cause of death was asphyxia due to manual strangulation.

Magat’s sister, Cristel Magat, said her brother had called her, saying he was being “punished” and asking for help. The day after his death, the family filed a complaint with the Pasay police, which led to the relief of the 13 officers.

Six of the officers were from Pasay Police Substation 5, six were from the South Police District’s mobile force battalion, and one was from the regional force battalion.

De Sesto said that while he has not yet released the CCTV footage, it shows the officers pinning Magat to the ground while he struggled.

“Most likely, that’s the reason for his suffocation,” De Sesto said. “It’s possible that pressure was applied to his neck.” He stressed that the police are remaining “neutral” in the case.