POH BOY'S ALLEGED TORTURE
HIS father at first didn't believe him when he alleged that he was being abused.
So the 12-year-old said he suffered in silence for a year in the hands of five older boys in a Penang boys' home.
The boy cannot be named because he's a minor.
He was allegedly made to drink urine-laced soymilk, sodomised and burnt on his buttocks with cigarettes.
When they were finally convinced of the alleged abuse, the boy's parents complained to representatives from the Democratic Alliance Party (DAP).
They revealed the alleged abuses at a press conference yesterday .
The boy, the second child of six, was first sent to a boys' home in Ipoh because of misbehaviour, said his father.
In November last year, the boy was transferred to another boys' home in Penang as it had more facilities.
It was there that he was allegedly abused by five teens aged 16 and above.
The 39-year-old father, a cleaner with Ipoh town council, said: 'My son had complained to me earlier (about the alleged abuse) but I didn't believe him until recently when he came home for Deepavali.
'I saw something was wrong with him, so I took him to the Ipoh central hospital for a check-up.'
On the advice of a doctor and under the supervision of a social welfare officer, the father made a police report on Nov 27.
He said: 'I took my son to the home and expressed my concerns to the principal but, until now, I have not heard anything.'
The home arranged for the boy to be sent to another hospital for a check-up to confirm that he had been sodomised.
A full medical report from the hospital will be out in one or two months.
Meanwhile, DAP official Siva Subramaniam said:'The boy had undergone serious physical and psychological damage. He needs to stay at the hospital to recuperate.'
The boy was at the press conference and was sent back to the Ipoh general hospital afterwards.
Mr Siva urged the police and hospital to view this case of alleged abuse seriously.
He said: 'I hope that the police will investigate thoroughly and bring the culprits to justice.'
