Manama: A Kuwaiti boy, nine, has died after torture inflicted by his parents, and not from natural causes as they claimed, the police said.
The father, a 31-year-old Kuwaiti, contacted the police station in Sulaibikhat and told them his son died from a natural death after he was treated at the accident department at the Jahra hospital northwest of the capital of Kuwait City on Monday.
However, the hospital told the police that the boy had been dead for hours when his father brought him and that there were wounds and bruises on his body.
An investigation was launched, and during a confrontation with the parents regarding the wounds and bruises across his body, they said their son was hyperactive and had high amounts of energy, Kuwaiti daily Al Watan reported on Tuesday.
They added that the child regularly assaulted his siblings, particularly one who was handicapped, and the youngest brother, who was six months old.
The parents said that they “now and then” hit the boy in order to discipline him.
They added that they recently tied him and locked him up in one of the rooms for some days.
The son, angry over the punishment, protested being tied and locked up and decided to stop eating, the parents said.
The mother said that she had untied the son a few hours before his death and that he went to sleep in the same room as his brothers.
However, the parents later discovered that their son had died as a result of their punishment and all their efforts to revive him failed, the daily added.
The Indian domestic helper working for the family confirmed the parents’ version of events.
The parents have been referred to the authorities for further investigations.
