Dad sent to counselling for beating son

A father accused of beating his son because he wanted to stay with his mother, instead of him, had his bail extended when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court.

The man was charged with cruelty to child and assault occasioning bodily harm. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.

The court head that the accused ill-treated his son and exposed him to pain and suffering. The accused admitted in court that he had beaten the child, but said it had only been two slaps with a belt.

"He did not want to stay at my home, and started crying and woke me up, so I slapped him with a belt," said Ralph.

The police contradicted his claims, saying the accused used a leather belt to hit his son all over the body.

The police said the boy tried to use a pillow to hide from the beating but the accused took it and continued to hit the child for a protracted period.

Resident Magistrate Vaughn Smith charged that the issue should be removed from the courts and taken to counselling.

Ralph will return to court on March 23 for an update on the outcome of the counselling session.