A 47-year-old man has received a suspended prison sentence of four months by a Nicosia judge for trying to discipline his children by beating them.
The man admitted to beating his 10-year-old son back in June 2014 after the child had asked him to fix his bicycle. The father delivered a series of blows around the boy’s head and face before then pushing him to the ground.
Ten days later, according to the details emerged from the court hearing, the father slapped his 8-year-old son because he had reportedly left a piece of wood in front of the garden shed.
The man gave his own version of the beatings, saying that he beat up his elder son because the boy had stolen €100 from the car, while he struck the younger son because he had broken a glass door using a piece of wood.
The court took into account the man’s family situation, as both he and his wife are unemployed and they are separated. The parents are also receiving social benefits from the state.
Judge Marilena Meliotou, who presided over the case at the Nicosia District Court, gave her remarks before handing down the four-month sentence, which was suspended for three years.
“In every case, there are other appropriate ways to discipline a 10-year-old and an 8-year-old without the need for brute force,” the judge said.
The judge also pointed out that a home should be a refuge for a child, where it can feel protected and loved.
The court also took into consideration the fact that the Welfare Services had recently withdrawn a request filed with the Family Court, which would have seen the two boys along with their two younger siblings, taken away from their parents’ custody.
Cyprus Weekly