Wednesday, October 03, 2007 Boy, 12, beaten, chained to a tree by pa
A 12-YEAR-OLD boy was found by a police team sleeping in a grass field Sunday night, after he was allegedly maltreated by his father.
The boy was reportedly thrown, beaten, and tied to a tree with a chain after his father, in a drunken rage, saw him.
Jojo (real name withheld), of Barangay Napo, Carcar City, was near a field at about 6 p.m. Sunday when his father Benjamin came staggering toward him.
When he saw Jojo, he lifted the boy and slapped him several times.
He put his hands around the boy’s throat and lifted the boy only to hurl him to the ground. This happened several times.
When they got near the house, Benjamin allegedly dragged Jojo to a jackfruit tree.
There, he tied the boy with a chain and bound the boy’s hands and feet with wire.
Neighbors who saw this called up the police station and informed them that a boy was being maltreated.
When Benjamin learned that the police were on their way, he immediately fled.
Since the binds were not very tight, Jojo managed to untie these on his own.
Exhausted after his ordeal, he fell asleep on the field until police found him there.
PO3 Jorami Tanud-tanud said they took Jojo with them to the police station and he narrated what happened to him.
Asked where his mother was, he said she was first to flee out of fear.
His father surrendered to the police station Monday dawn and is now facing a child abuse case.
Tanudtanud said that Jojo’s elder brother had also complained to the police about a similar incident.
The brother no longer lives with the family. Jojo is now with the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Tanudtanud said that at the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, Jojo’s mother seemed to be hesitant about filing the case and began defending her husband.
He said that if she persists in defending Benjamin, they might include her in the case. (MEA)
