CEBU, Philippines - The police yesterday arrested a man after he let his 13-year-old son stand under the sun’s searing heat as punishment for his alleged negligence that led to the death of his father’s fighting cock.
Ironically, the place where the incident happened is just a few meters away from the headquarters of the Cebu City Police Office on Gorordo Avenue.
The suspect was invited to the police office past 2 p.m. last Wednesday after one of his neighbors reported the incident to authorities.
Operatives of the Investigation and Detective Management Branch (IDMB) of the CCPO immediately responded to the area and still saw the 13-year-old boy standing outside the house, allegedly already pale.
Chief Insp. George Ylanan, head of the IDMB, said that when the police arrived at the area, the suspect was allegedly heard telling his son to get inside the house. The police, despite the suspect’s hesitation, took him to the Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD).
PO3 Judith Nedamo, investigating officer of the WCPD, said they learned that the suspect punished his son by letting him stand outside the house under the scorching heat of the sun for about 15 minutes.
The father allegedly got mad at his son for not heeding his order to place his four fighting cocks in a shady place if it’s already warm.
However, when the father allegedly went home around 2 p.m. after attending a meeting, he saw one of the cocks already dead.
According to a neighbor who requested anonymity, the father alleged that he let his son undergo such punishment to let him “feel” what the dead cock felt when it was exposed under the sun for a long time.
“Salbahison man daw nang amahana. Mao bitaw gibiyaan na siya sa iya asawa ‘nya tua na sa US (United States) karon. Hasta pud iyang unom pa ka-anak anang pirmiro niyang asawa milahi og puyo kay manakit man lagi na siya,” the neighbor alleged, adding that it was the second time the suspect is facing the same offense.
However, the suspect was released after his eldest child, who now lives in Barangay Pardo, came to the police office and requested that he be released because nobody would take care of the victim and his eight-year-old sister if he gets imprisoned.
Nedamo said that even the victim has requested for the release his father as he is a good provider and that he somehow just accepted his punishment.
But before he was released, the suspect was made to sign a document which stated that he will already be sent to prison and charged if he is arrested again for maltreating his child.
The suspect allegedly cried at the police station and expressed his sorry to the victim and to the rest of his children. (FREEMAN NEWS)