Father gets six weeks for cuffing “wayward” daughter
A father of three was yesterday reminded that times are changing and flogging as a means of discipline is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The man was brought before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday and was jailed for six weeks after he gave his 14-year old daughter a sound thrashing for engaging in activities which are usually reserved for adults.
The father pleaded guilty to a charge of ill-treatment of a child.
The police said that on June 16 at the family’s residence the man, who is a vendor, scolded his daughter in such a manner that it caused her physical harm. The police said that on the day in question the child left her father’s house and went over to a friend. That friend was however on her way out when the teen arrived so she decided to go to another friend’s house.
The police continued that the grandmother went for the child at the friend’s house and took her home. Members of the family sought to question the child about her whereabouts but she refused to answer them. It was only after the father spoke to her that she responded.
In that same conversation the child told her father that she wanted to go with an aunt. The father told the child to go ahead, but the police said that while the child was in the bedroom packing, the father went in and dealt the child several cuffs to the face.
He also used an electrical wire “to manners the child”. When the father was finished the police said, he ordered the girl to go bathe and she did. The child however upped herself, and left for the Ruimveldt Police Station where she made a report against him.
The court gave the parent a chance to defend himself and his story contrasted with that of the prosecutor while it detailed a situation which he described as very frustrating.
The father stated that his daughter, since the age of 13 years, would get away from home and engage in sex with older men. The man said he reported the matter to the Brickdam Police Station and also alerted members of the Child Care Protection Agency (CCPA) which gave him no response. The father claimed that it had been more than nine times since the child had been getting away to commit such acts.
On Friday last, the father said, he dropped his daughter off at school. On that day, he said due to exams, the child had a half day session. The girl did not return home from school until noon the following day.
The parent said he had a conversation with his child about her whereabouts and she started to lie. He said at that point that he dealt her several lashes with a belt. The father was adamant that he used two belts and no electrical cord was involved.
The father further told the court that he was the sole breadwinner in the home and he also maintains two other girls. The man said that his children’s mother died nine years ago and he has been seeing to the needs of his kids. He said he had never beaten any of them before and his relatives could attest to the fact that he is a good father, that he never assaulted his children.
The father asked for leniency from the court. He admitted that he was upset and vowed that he would not make such a mistake again.
The Magistrate was very upset after reading the medical report based on the child’s injuries. She said that the document reported multiple contusions which meant that the child was severely beaten about her body.
The court blamed the father for not using the methods put in place by the system to handle the matter which he described with his daughter. The court said that it understood how one may feel as a parent, but one must use the avenues put in place by the state. The father also came under fire when he admitted that he did not keep contact with members of the CCPA.
The Magistrate said that the CCPA members would have provided advice to the father and counseling would have been available to the child. The parent was made aware that it would have been his duty to keep in touch with the child agents and not the other way around.
Amidst the court speech a CPA agent stood and addressed the court to state that the father, after the initial report, never kept contact with the organization. She alleged that she had been calling the family but the father would not respond. She said the child’s actions were unknown to the agency due to the breakdown in communication.
The court then ordered the sentence and told the pleading father that before he acted he should have remembered that he has two other daughters to care for.
The child care agent was also ordered to monitor the victim and to keep her in check since she would be residing with her grandmother and her aunts. Counseling and continued monitoring was promised to the court.
Outside, the defendant’s daughter was seen crying when she realized that her father would be going to jail for six weeks. Dressed in her school uniform, the child threw herself to the ground and sobbed uncontrollably pleading for her father. She even attempted to enter the court to address the Magistrate but was told by the orderly to wait outside since the court had made its decision.
She said she was sorry and wanted her father back. The girl was later seen in the court holding area taking food for her dad. Her eyes were still filled with tears.
Does This Father Deserve Imprisonment? I think not. Although his method of scolding / disciplining his daughter may seem harsh and frowned upon by modern day society, a sound ass whooping of incalcitrant / wayward kids was in fact SOP in my time and may still be appropriate in certain circumstances. ( this being one of them) Personally, if I had to deal with similar situation as this father, I seriously doubt that my reaction/ response to a wayward child, especially a daughter would have been any different from this poor man. 'Spare the rod and spoil the child' Your honest opinion please!
