Mother burns child’s
hand as punishment
~ Mother arrested, child taken away ~
PHILIPSBURG--A Haitian woman is in police custody after “seriously mistreating” her seven-year-old child recently, leaving the young boy with “serious second and third degree burns to his right hand,” police said Sunday.
Police were set on the trail of the mother Friday after staff at the child’s playschool in Cay Hill noticed intense burns on and around his hand and alerted authorities. The seven-year-old told the staff, and later police, that his burnt hand was punishment from his mother for playing with her cell phone. It was alleged that the woman had held his hand in the flames of a lit gas stove, police reported.
The woman could not be reached immediately for comment, but she had been arrested during the course of the weekend. The victim is in the care of children’s home “I Can Foundation” on order of the Court of Guardianship, police said.
Windward Islands Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein told The Daily Herald that suspects in these cases often faced severe repercussions from authorities, risked losing their children and faced jail time. In this specific case, Stein said, “This will be left up to the investigations,” but, “(She could) be put away.”
The police are investigating this case further.
