Composite crime v. complex or compound crime
In the case of People v. Avila (G.R. No. 195244, June 22, 2015), the Supreme
Court held the difference of composite and complex crime.
A composite crime is truly distinct and different from a complex or compound
crime. In a composite crime, the
composition of the offenses is fixed by law, but in a
complex or compound crime, the combination of the offenses is not specified but generalized,
that is, grave and/or less grave, or one offense being the necessary means
to commit the other. In a
composite crime, the
penalty for the specified combination of crimes is specific, but in a
complex or compound crime the
penalty is that corresponding to the most serious offense, to be imposed
in the maximum period. A light felony that accompanies the commission of a complex or compound
crime may be made the subject of a separate information, but a light felony
that accompanies a composite crime is absorbed.
A composite crime is truly distinct and different from a complex or compound
crime. In a composite crime, the
composition of the offenses is fixed by law, but in a
complex or compound crime, the combination of the offenses is not specified but generalized,
that is, grave and/or less grave, or one offense being the necessary means
to commit the other. In a
composite crime, the
penalty for the specified combination of crimes is specific, but in a
complex or compound crime the
penalty is that corresponding to the most serious offense, to be imposed
in the maximum period. A light felony that accompanies the commission of a complex or compound
crime may be made the subject of a separate information, but a light felony
that accompanies a composite crime is absorbed.
