CHAINED BOY REGRETS RETURNING HOME LATE
He claims that his stepfather had not treated him like that before
THE 10-year-old boy who was found chained to a gas cylinder on Thursday expressed his regret for returning home late, which saw him being punished by his 32-year-old stepfather.
The boy said he went to a cybercafe with his friends and returned home late on Wednesday night.
Clad in pyjamas, the boy told state Women, Family Development, Communications and Multimedia Committee chairman Datuk Shahaniza Shamsuddin, who visited him at Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital yesterday that the incident on Thursday was the first time his stepfather had treated him that way.
The boy, the third of five siblings, told Shahaniza that he wanted to meet his biological father, who worked at a car wash in Pantai Klebang, Melaka.
The victim said he last met his father during Hari Raya Aidilfitri last year and was hoping to be reunited with him.
“I want to meet my father. I do not know how to get in touch with him,” he told Shahaniza and representatives from the Welfare Department yesterday.
On Thursday, the boy was found chained to a gas cylinder at his house at 10am after he allegedly refused to attend school.
Alerted by neighbours, a police team was forced to break down the gates to rescue the boy, who was lying naked and unconscious on the floor.
Shahaniza said she hoped the victim’s father would visit his son, especially since news on the incident had been published.
“They have not met each other for quite a long time and the boy is starting to miss him. I hope the father will visit the victim.
“The doctors told me that the boy is in good health and does not display any sign of trauma.
“He seems to be his normal self. He told me that he loves drawing and wants to be a doctor when he grows up.”
She said while waiting for police to finish their investigation, the Welfare Department would provide counselling for the victim and allow him to recover at the hospital.
She said the boy’s 37-year-old mother, who was picked up for questioning along with her husband on Thursday, had been released on police bail.