HUIXIAN

Boy's dad: Home told me he fell down stairs, but...
How did his eyes and face end up with such bruises?
1. Boys in home allege they were abused by supervisors, including having urine poured on head, strangling, choking and beatings
2. One supervisor sacked, Ministry makes police report against home
3. Allegations of abuse surfaced more than a year ago


HE wore a frown on his face, his chubby cheeks were sullen. His eyes were dull and his posture hunched.

The plump Primary 3 boy was dragging an old trolley bag to school when The New Paper caught up with him two weeks ago.

When we called him, he turned around slowly.


It has been almost a year since Tim (not his real name) was featured in our report about how he was allegedly abused in the children's home he was staying in.

He nodded when we identified the former supervisor who had allegedly caused his injuries.

He pointed to a 20cm mark on his left chest and another 10cm mark on his right chest - a result of the alleged attack.

ANOTHER HOME

He is now living in another welfare home.

Before we could talk to him further, he was led away by officials from his current home.

Recalling the incident last year, his father John claimed that when his son was injured while at the children's home, he was told he had fallen down the stairs.

But the injuries didn't fit, said John, a 60-year-old driver. All names have been changed to protect the identities of the children.

Instead he claimed his son, then 8, was kicked and punched by a supervisor in the children's home last May.

The beating was so bad that the boy almost fainted. He was hospitalised for more than a week.

When The New Paper first reported this last year, the children's home confirmed the incident.

But they declined to reveal details.

We could not speak to the boy or his father at the time. Our requests to visit the child in hospital were turned down.

A staff member said then that it was inappropriate for us to speak to the boy or the supervisor involved

This incident is among a string of abuses that have been uncovered in this well-established home for children from needy and broken families.

Yesterday, we reported on how a boy had urine poured over his head while others had suffered strangling attacks as part of punishments meted out by a childcare supervisor.

The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports has made a police report against the home.

The police are investigating and the home did not want to comment.

The New Paper separately spoke to 12 of the 25 residents living in the home. Eleven claimed they had been abused while the 12th corroborated their accounts.

The supervisor who allegedly beat Tim was sacked this year. He was the same supervisor who had allegedly beaten up another boy and hurled vulgarities at another.

John suffers from health problems and lives with his step-daughter's family in a three-room flat.

He said he was told about Tim's injuries only on the second day after his son was warded.

John claimed that a staff member from the home told him to go there to meet him first so he could accompany John to the hospital.

John claimed that the staff member didn't want him to go to the hospital on his own because he was scared that he would go to the police.

BLOODSHOT EYES

John saw his son's bloodshot eyes and the area around it badly bruised. The veins around the boy's cheekbones were also protruding and swollen.

He also noticed cuts on his son's wrists which looked like cuts.

The boy had scratches and bruises all over his chest, and there were also scars all over his body. He also complained of stomach pains.

He claimed he had been beaten up by his supervisor.John claimed the incident took place on a Sunday, when the home was organising celebrations.

The boy claimed it all started when his name was removed from a list of people who were supposed to perform that day. Unhappy, he walked away from the celebrations.

That was when he claimed he was beaten up. This was what he told his father that day at the hospital.

The boy had given a police statement before John reached the hospital.

John claimed the police told him his son had fallen. John said he later asked the boy about it and he replied: 'Papa, they (staff members) asked me to say like that.'

John claimed that his son's alleged attacker had even explained to him how his son had fallen down the stairs.

Tim wanted to jump, the supervisor claimed.

In a bid to prevent him from falling, he tried to grab Tim. But he tumbled down the stairs with the boy.

He landed on top of the boy and his hand 'touched' him.

John said: 'This is not correct. How did his eyes and face end up with bruises and blood clots?'

Two boys whom The New Paper spoke to separately said they had witnessed the alleged beating of Tim.

One boy said: 'The supervisor pulled Tim's hand. He was crying. In the office, he 'boxed' him.'

Another boy, Sam, 14, separately told us: 'We saw his body. It was all blue-black.'

Adam, 12, who later had urine poured on his head, claimed he saw Tim being dragged across the laundry area at the back of the home. This was also corroborated by two other boys whom we spoke to separately.

FALLEN

Tim's sister, Alisha, 12, lives in the girls' branch of the same home but did not witness the incident.

She said: 'The staff told me that he was not beaten up. They said he had accidentally 'fallen' from the fourth floor. I don't believe it.'

The siblings are staying at the home because John, who earns about $1,000 a month, uses most of the money to pay for his treatment, which includes heart problems.

He said he was in no condition to take care of his children. Their mother is in Indonesia.

Tim had other problems - the boys had a nickname for him.

Of the name-calling, his sister said: 'My brother felt very disappointed, but he never cared about them. He just wanted to make friends, not get into trouble.'

But John says things have improved since the boy was moved to a new home.

GreenSn0w

eeeeee..these ppl are INHUMAN lor..

recently like really got alotz of "inside news" of those welfare homes hor hor??? :disgust2:
makin it seem more n more unsafe for parents to leave their children there..

wizshar

......
I hate all this kind of teachers who are impatient with the kids...
they are so lovely but sometimes they are bad...
Being a teacher sometimes got to put themselves in their shoe as they are young and does not have the experiences of life you went thru...
so shouldn't do such things to the kids whereby it will cost them suffering in their life thru out and pulling down their self esteem next time...

k3nn7i

kao...isit...got such thing

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Riceballz

ah another such cases -.- sicko they all >.<

finaldust

wa lau so sick this kid should tell the truth to prevent this problem from the start bah

to fall in love is always easy
to start a relationship is always simple
to build it, is always tough
to maintain it, is 'better said than done'
to break off, is 'easier said than done'
to remain friends after u broke off, is never possible
to forget the memories is 'always doing but never succeeding'
to heal the pain within is hard and tough and never near simple
but one has to try to heal your own heart...

wizshar

Yeah i agree....
nowadays being a childcare teacher also hard sia...
thx to all this type of teachers...

xiaopillow-

kns la this kind still go take care of kids..

anti-soccerplayerswhoinvadethebballcourt D: