Senior Reporter
rhondor.dowlat@guardian.co.tt
The police are investigating two videos of violent incidents involving children that have been widely circulated on social media.
One of the videos shows a boy beating a woman believed to be his mother and the other shows a woman choking a boy in front of a bank along Independence Square in Port-of-Spain.
Officers from the Central Police Station are investigating the video in which a boy is seen being choked and scolded by a woman. Passers-by attempted to intervene but the woman hurled threats at them and walked away, holding on to the child. In a subsequent video, the woman with the child is confronted by police officers, who questioned them. However, the boy remained silent and did not say if the woman was his mother.
In a release late yesterday, the Children’s Authority said collaborative efforts with the Child Protection Unit and concerned citizens helped them to locate the child.
CA director Sheldon Cyrus said the child will be placed in the care of suitable and responsible relatives and the authority will monitor the child’s placement to ensure the boy’s needs are met.
On Tuesday, the head of the Child Protection Unit, Snr Supt Claire Guy-Alleyne, said the video of the child beating a woman had been authenticated and police officers from the West End Police Station are looking into it as information confirms the incident occurred in their district.
Initially, it was believed to be Alex Coombs, 19, of Freeport, who was murdered by a close male relative on Sunday night. However, his mother, Sabita Partap, said the boy in that video was not her son.
In that video, the boy is seen on top of a woman beating her as she calls out for help.
Cyrus said the collaboration between the authority and the police was one example of the National Interagency Protocol for Child Abuse Prevention and Management (NIPCAPM) at work.
“The protocol seeks to ensure the continuous collaboration and coordination across the child protection and welfare system to prevent, report and investigate all matters related to child abuse and maltreatment,” he said.
“The authority will continue to conduct public education and awareness campaigns to heighten public engagement about the need to protect our nation’s most vulnerable.”
The public is reminded to report all incidents of child abuse to the police at 999 or the Children’s Authority at 996.