Mother, man beat up boy with stick and metal pole so mercilessly his injuries make doctor break into sobs
A paediatric neurosurgeon at The Children's Hospital in Westmead of Sydney, Australia, took to Twitter to share about the most gruesome case of child beating he says he has ever seen. Dr Adam Fowler mentioned in the since-deleted tweet on Saturday, August 29: "One admission overnight. The worst case of suspected child beating I've ever seen in my professional career," adding, "one that made me physically sob whilst examining. I can't even right now."
The five-year-old boy he was referring to is on life support after allegedly being beaten with a piece of wood at a home on the night of August 28 in Cabramatta in south-west Sydney. Following reports of an assault, emergency services were called to the home around 9.50 pm. Upon their arrival, the child was treated at the scene and was then taken to the hospital where he remains in a critical condition.
Police in Sydney, Australia, have now charged a 20-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman (an NSW Police spokeswoman confirmed one of the adults arrested was the child's parent and reports mentioned her as being the mother) after discovering the seriously injured child. The man was later charged with wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. And the woman has been charged with not providing for the child and putting a child in danger of serious injury.
Magistrate Peter Miszalski denied the man bail in order to protect the child. He heard as the man admitted he had been smacking the boy for "discipline", which ended in the boy suffering a brain injury. "What started off smacking the victim to discipline, ended with the victim being severely injured. I have seen the photos. They are very disturbing," the judge said while denying the bail. During her appearance at the Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday, August 29, the woman, however, did not apply for bail.
The injured five-year-old boy is reported to be on a life-support machine with brain damage after allegedly being beaten with a wooden stick and metal pole. According to reports, he also had marks that looked like cigarette burns on his body and splinters in his feet and backside.
Dr Adam Fowler further revealed in his tweet that the boy had an "army of medical professionals" on his side as he fought for his life in hospital. "Well kiddo! Here's the good news", Dr Fowler wrote. "There's now an ARMY of health and community professionals on your side. Day 1 has begun."
According to reports, neighbors are really concerned about the little boy's well being. A neighbor told a news outlet that there was "a lot of commotion" and it felt a lot like "maybe a bust" as the couple was being arrested. "You had the PolAir around on top". Another resident said, "I'm very sad... I want him to be OK. For me, I have kids too... I don't want him to pass [away]."