It was reported that an 8-year-old boy was stripped naked and chained to a staircase at a flat housing area in Paya Terubong, Penang by his father because he misbehaved.
At 2:30am on Sunday (15th May), a resident of the apartment, Michael Jin, took to Facebook to share photos and a video about the incident. As at time of writing, the post has been shared more than 2.8k times and the video gained over 10k views.
In his post, he stated that the boy was chained from 10pm to approximately 2:30am, and had to relieve himself on the spot.
“No matter how naughty your child is, he shouldn’t be treated like this. There was once he was beaten till his head bled. I took some photos and went to find his family. His father was holding a wooden bat to scare me but I snatched the bat away and threatened him to release his son,” wrote Jin.
According to The Star, Paya Terubong Village Security and Development Committee chairman Frankie Kee said he found out about the boy after the social media post went viral.
“I visited the boy upon receiving the news. I warned the father, who initially refused to open the door, and told him that what he did was child abuse. He pleaded for pardon and promised not to do it again,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
He also added that the father is a single parent and that the boy is his only son.
Besides that, Kee mentioned that this was not the first time he was chained to the staircase and that the father would threaten other neighbours when they tried to help the boy.
“I decided not to make a police report considering the condition of the family. But I’ve given my contact number to the neighbours and told them to call me should such a thing happen again,” he said.
Do you think that the police or the children’s social care should intervene? What are your thoughts about the father’s parenting style? Let us know in the comments below!
UPDATE (17th May, 12:30pm):
The 8-year-old boy is now under temporary custody of the state’s Welfare Department.
George Town OCPD Asst Comm Mior Faridalathrash Wahid confirmed that the boy’s 45-year-old father was arrested when he turned up at the Air Itam police station to give a statement at about 4pm yesterday (16th May).
Besides that, Paya Terubong assemblyman Yeoh Soon Hin said that the boy will be sent to the Penang Hospital for a check-up, even though there aren’t any obvious injuries on his body.
“I’ve spoken to the boy’s relative. She hopes that the public would leave the family alone so that the authorities could investigate the case and also to protect the interest of the child,” assemblyman Yeoh stated.
Sources: The Star (1), The Star (2), Frankie Kee’s Facebook page, Michael Jin’s Facebook page.
