WHEN a father went to check on his seven-year-old son on Sunday, he was shocked to find he had a bruised back.
The son allegedly told him that his mother (24) moered him with a stick because he had burst a waterpipe in the kasi.
Now the father (31), from Umlazi, south of Durban is fuming because he suspects his son is being abused.
“I know that when children have done something wrong, their parents punish them. But this is abuse.”
He said his son, who lives in Umlazi with his mother, tells him that his mum beats him when he makes mistakes.
“I use to think my son was exaggerating until now. I tried to speak to his mother.
“She told me I have no say because I haven’t paid her family for damages for making her pregnant. She added that I can’t take him to live with me until I’ve paid the damages.”
He told Daily Sun that he does piece jobs to survive and can’t afford to pay.
The mother said: “I didn’t mean to hurt him like that. It’s just that I was angry that he burst the pipe.
“Children are beaten when they’re naughty. That doesn’t make it abuse. I admit that I hurt my son but it wasn’t my intention.”
Ncumisa Ndelu, a KZN Department of Social Development spokeswoman, advised the father to report the matter to social workers.
“They will investigate and act in the interests of the child.”
