MANILA, Nov. 2 -- Tabuk City police chief Lt. Col. Jack Angog saved a destitute father from imprisonment after stealing milk for his child, earning praises for his act of compassion.

The man was held on Oct. 31 after a supermarket worker caught him taking a 1.725-kilogram box of baby milk without paying, acting Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a news release Sunday.

The suspect told officers he had lost his job when a construction project ended. He had been raising his child alone after his wife left.

Nartatez said the incident, which went viral on social media, perfectly showed the human side of policing where officers enforce the law with both firmness and empathy.

He said police wor...