Bali man who allegedly broke 11-year-old son’s leg now in police custody
A man in Bali, identified by his initials IKA, was arrested for allegedly breaking his 11-year-old son’s leg in a horrifying case of domestic abuse that is currently being handled by the police and Bali’s Child Protection Agency.
As reported by local media outlets, the alleged incident took place on July 24. Authorities say IKA, a resident of Bali’s Karangasem regency, regularly abused all three of his children and on that date he began by assaulting his youngest, a two-and-a-half-year-old, who became the target of his anger because the toddler kept crying.
“Because the child didn’t keep quiet, [IKA] hit the child with a wire hanger. It’s the tool he used most often to hit his kids. He hit the youngest child twice at first, though the mother tried to stop him, he kept on doing it,” Titik Suhariyati, the secretary of Bali’s Child Protection Agency, said during a press conference on Friday.
Titik explained that the abuse did not stop there, with IKA targeting his 8-year-old child next. It was at that time that his eldest, who has been identified as 11-year-old PSM, walked onto the scene while limping.
“[IKA said] ‘look at this child, I don’t like a limping boy, it’s better to die’ as he threw him on the ground and hit him on the head twice, on the stomach once, and tweaked his ears,” Titik said.
Titik said that IKA realized that PSM’s legs were broken when he tried to force him to get up, The child was later brought to Sanglah General Hospital after IKA borrowed some money from his neighbor.
Titik said that the mother was reluctant to report the matter to authorities at first but eventually relented. She told the police that IKA has abused their first child, PSM, ever since he was two years old.
“When he was five, his father threw him and that was the cause of him limping. Two years ago they found a tumor, and this is what makes his bones weak. His legs have been shrinking and his limping became more apparent,” Titik said, adding that the mother had also been a victim of IKA’s physical abuse.
PSM is still undergoing intensive treatment for his injuries, and had reportedly expressed that he didn’t want to go back home because he was also bullied at school because of his limp.
According to a report from Merdeka, IKA has been in police custody since Friday.
Read more news and updates from Bali here.
