A TEN-YEAR-OLD boy of Downer Canal, North Sophia, Georgetown was found hanging on the verandah of his parent’s home at about 10:00hrs yesterday. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), and is battling for his life in the accident and emergency unit.When this publication visited the hospital yesterday, the boy’s mother, who had discovered him hanging, was being taken into custody to assist police with their investigations, but other family members refused to speak to this publication, and were being secretive about the incident. Residents of North Sophia speculate that the child is often ill-treated by his step-father.

A close family member reluctantly told this publication that the hanging incident might have been an accident, because he does not believe that the boy would want to commit suicide, knowing that his family members love him.

That relative said he had earlier seen the boy playing in the yard, but moments later, he had heard the boy’s mother calling him for breakfast and saying he was nowhere to be found. A few minutes later, the boy started to scream at the top of his voice, and he was seen hanging from the laundry line on the verandah.

Neighbours and friends of the boy’s family assisted in cutting him loose and rushing him to the GPHC; and a reliable source told this publication that the boy’s stepfather usually ill-treats and badly brutalizes him, and this may have triggered his decision to commit suicide, since he allegedly could not cope with the situation.

The source said he heard someone screaming, and when he peeped outside, he saw the boy hanging and his family members trying to keep him alive. The source said the boy had placed a belt around his neck and had tied it to the clothes line on the verandah, before jumping from the verandah to be left hanging in suspension.

The source pointed out that the boy’s father had died sometime ago in a shootout with police and bandits, and that the boy has since not been faring well.
Written By Asif Hakim