The mother of six-year-old Mosiah Maharaj is pleading with the police to take action against a relative who caused injuries to his arms and shoulder.The suspect has not been arrested by police.Mosiah's mother Destra Dythe is now demanding to know why the suspect is not in custody.Sitting on a couch in the living room of his Picton Street, Diamond Village, San Fernando, home, Mosiah grimaced in pain as Dythe fixed his bandage. The child appeared withdrawn and had to be propped up by pillows.
Mosiah attends the Picton Presbyterian School and is in first year.Recalling the incident, Dythe said she left Mosiah and his nine-year-old brother, Judah, with their grandmother at Picton Street Junction and went to work at her nearby vegetable."I had about five customers and then I heard Mosiah screaming loudly," Dythe said.Leaving her stall unattended, Dythe rushed towards the house but a relative restrained her and prevented her from going up the stairs.
She said she later saw Mosiah's father Donnie Maharaj walking on the street and alerted him."When Donnie went up the stairs he saw (a relative) holding down Mosiah and blocking his mouth. The man was telling Mosiah to stop crying like a hen. My son was bawling: "Mommy!" Donnie picked him up and brought him out of the house," Dythe said.She said the relative said the child fell down.After calling unsuccessfully for an ambulance, she stopped a taxi and went to the San Fernando General hospital.
Medical records showed Mosiah suffered a swollen arm and trauma to the shoulder. They also showed that Mosiah suffers from hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), fatigue, sweating, palpitations and polydipsia (excessive thirst).An X-ray on the injuries showed tenderness over the spine and scapula (shoulder blade).
"Mosiah is in severe pain. He saying his shoulder is chooking him. He bawling and has to stay on one side of his bottom. I don't know what to do. I gave him painkillers and I now have to buy more medication for him. I am a single mother and I singlehandedly take care of these children," Dythe said. She said she made a report at the San Fernando Police Station but officers have not arrested the suspect.
"He walking around right now saying the police cannot do him nothing. My child in pain right now and I want to know where is the justice," Dythe said.Dythe said she called the National Family Services who advised her to lodge a report at the Police Complaints Bureau at Mon Repos Police Station.She said her eldest son, Garnet Lalla, 14, and Judah have not returned to the relative's home since the incident.
A senior officer attached at the San Fernando station said the matter was being investigated. He said attempts were made to locate the suspect but he remained at large.
Child registrycoming, De Coteau
Meanwhile, the Minister of Gender Youth and Child Development is advising persons to call Childline at 800- 4321 to report all suspected child abuse incidents.Over the past two months, there have been four cases of extreme violence against children.In late November, Keyana Cumberbatch, 6, was raped and murdered before she was stuffed in a plastic bag and left in a barrel at her mother's apartment in Maloney Gardens. The DPP has ordered that a male relative be charged with her murder.
Days later, three-year-old Jabari Hernandez of Carmichael Village, Coryal, was also killed from blunt force trauma to the head. Investigations are continuing into the matter. On November 20, one-year-old Jacob Munroe's body was found in a cesspit at the back of his father's home in Maracas, St Joseph, after the child was allegedly kidnapped. An autopsy later showed the child was beaten to death. His father, Allan Thomas, 28, has been charged with the murder.
Minister of Gender Clifton De Couteau said legislators would soon debate a bill to create a national child registry and punish people who fail to report crimes against children.