Boy chained to the wall
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy was locked in his house, chained to the wall and given very little food and water by his mother for three weeks, an article in The Fiji Times of July 19 1991 reported.
It said Morrison Ron Pickering of Naulu was rescued in a semi-starved condition by a neighbour.
He was staying with his mother and stepfather.
A neighbour, Viliame Lutu, 31, said the boy was begging and starving for food when he saw him.
The matter was reported to police and Morrison was taken to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital.
He was then taken to the St Christopher’s Home.
Mr Lutu said his 16-yearold brother Qalo told him about the crying he heard every morning and afternoon when passing a particular house.
He said he decided not to go to work, but to find out what was wrong.
“I didn’t care about my job, but I care about the life of this boy whether Indian, Fijian, Chinese or Rotuman,” he said,
“When I peeped in, I saw that he was chained to the wall and was crying.
“He begged me to open the door and to give him food and water.”
Mr Lutu said the chain was about three-and–a-half metres long, half of which was attached to the wall.
He added that the chain around his ankle was secured with a padlock and the key was kept by his parents.
“I called the police immediately.”
Mr Lutu said he later discovered that Morrison was locked in the house from 6am to 6pm and later fed when his parents returned from work.
However, the chain was never removed, he said.
“I think his parents tied his left ankle first before changing it to the right because there’s a big black mark around his left ankle.
“When they released him and gave him some water, he was trembling a lot and could hardly hold the bowl.”
Mr Lutu said his neighbours were scared because Morrison’s stepfather had threatened to kill anyone who reported it to the police.
A spokesperson at St Christopher’s Home said Morrison was very weak when he was brought in on Thursday evening.
When The Fiji Times visited Morrison, he said he was chained by his mother and was not given any food.
He did not say anything else, but kept on repeating what his mother did to him.
Police spokesman Assistant Superintendent of Police Aisake Rabuku said the boy was crying and was wearing a dirty pair of shorts when he was rescued.
He said investigations were completed and the file would be submitted to the director of Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
CID director Senior Superintendent of Police Govind Raju said he would examine the evidence and statement before deciding whether to lay charges.
A spokesperson at the Social Welfare Department said Morrison would stay at the home permanently.
When I peeped in, I saw that he was chained to the wall and was crying – Viliame Lutu