MOM BURNS CHILDREN'S HANDS OVER FIRE

This is the case with a 25-year-old mother of Sangre Grande, who was arrested yesterday by CID officers from Sangre Grande Police Station and is presently assisting police in their enquiries into the alleged burning of the hands of her three children.

The three children range in age from four to eight years. They all reside with their mother at their Sangre Grande home.

“Don’t do this to us mummy, we will wait and ask you before we take cornflakes and milk again,” were the screams echoed by three children to a Sangre Grande mother before she placed their hands over a lighted stove burner as a form of punishment.

It was alleged that the mother placed the children’s hands individually over a lighted stove burner, which accounted for the burns received on the hands of the three children.

Police revealed the reason given for the harsh and severe punishment was the children stole cornflakes and milk from the cupboard.

Police reported that the father of the four-year girl child went to the mother’s home on Saturday evening to visit his daughter.

The 30-year-old father whose name cannot be disclosed as the enquiries continue reported to police his daughter was in tears and she showed him her right hand which had been burnt.

When he questioned the mother how his daughter received the burns, her response was that the child was playing with hot oil.

Dissatisfied with that explanation the irate father summoned the two other children and he also saw burns on their right hands.

He immediately took his daughter and went to the Sangre Grande Police Station where he made a report about the incident of his daughter and two other children.

Police officers from Sangre Grande responded and reported that when they went to the home of the 25-year-old-mother and questioned her she told the police that the children got burnt while playing with hot oil.

The police also found the story suspicious. They arrested the mother of three and took her to the Sangre Grande Police Station where she is detained and assisting police with their enquiries.

One of the children told police their mother left them at home and went to work. When the mother returned, she went to the kitchen and upon opening a kitchen cupboard, discovered cornflakes and milk missing.

“She became annoyed and accused us of eating the cornflakes and milk without asking for it.

“She then proceeded to scold us,” one of the children said. The eight-year-old believed they were going to receive “licks, but when she took us to the lighted stove, we all screamed and cried begging mummy not to hurt us as we will never do this again, but mummy placed our hands over the lighted stove.

“We tried to resist and pleaded with her not to burn our hands, but she never listened and placed our hands on the lighted stove and continued with her punishment. We all received burns to our right hand — palm and fingers,” the child said.

The child added, “After the ordeal while we were still crying and hurting, mummy told us not to tell anyone what she had done to us, but say that we were playing with hot oil when we got burnt on our hands.”

Responding to the report were Cpl Keith “Castro” Leon and WPC Reifer of Sangre Grande CID.

According to police, the children were hungry, and knowing that the cupboard had cornflakes and milk they helped themselves.

Two of the children who were at the station were seen hugging each other with tears flowing down their faces.

Last year, a similar incident occurred in Central when a mother placed her child’s hand on a hot tawah.

Yesterday, Snr Supt Dianan Naipaul appealed to parents to refrain from cruel and inhumane punishment. He referred to the incident as inhumane and barbaric punishment. “This is beyond discipline and can some way cultivate criminal minds,” he said.

WPC Reifer is continuing enquiries.

The mother is expected to be charged.