A local food delivery driver was arrested after he beat his 7-year-old son for not doing as well as he expected with his school work, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong said at a regular press conference yesterday.
Chong identified the suspect as a 36-year-old surnamed Kong, who has been divorced for a few years.
Chong said that their son has been living with his mother with a tutor going to their home regularly. According to Chong, when the tutor couldn’t make it their son would go to the home of his father who had been helping him with his homework since September.
Chong said that when Kong’s son did not perform well at school, he would punish him by hitting him with a coat hanger, slapping him and forcing him to hold a bucket filled with water. Chong added that his ex-wife had previously urged him to stop the corporal punishment, with Kong promising her at that time that he wouldn’t beat his son anymore.
However, according to Chong, Kong beat his son with a coat hanger on May 24 again after discovering that his son had hidden school results from him, resulting in injuries to his back, arms, legs, waist, and buttocks. Chong said after his mother discovered the injuries that night when she gave him a shower, she took him to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre and called the police the next day.
Chong said PJ officers asked Kong to report to the police on May 26, with Kong admitting the crime, saying that he punished his son for hiding the poor results from him.
According to Chong, the police have decided to classify the case as causing bodily harm instead of domestic violence, and transferred Kong to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Monday.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chong Kam Leong looks on during yesterday’s press conference. Photo: William Chan
