By Latrishka Thomas
It has been more than two years since a married couple first appeared in court for allegedly abusing the man’s son.
The incident allegedly took place on July 28 2020, and the trial which began in October last year is still ongoing.
The couple, from Potters, is accused of endangering the youth by severely beating him when he was 15.
In a previous hearing, the then 16-year-old boy told the court that he had received 65 “strokes” from his father on one of his hands after his stepmother kept a tally of punishments that were due to him until his father could administer them.
He told the court that he typically got 15 to 20 lashes for serious wrongdoing.
But one night, he got 65 blows which were compiled from things he’d allegedly done while his father was away, he said.
He disclosed that he was being punished because he stole a donkey, lied, and did not stop his brother from taking a bucket that they cut cane in before selling.
Other witnesses, including a local resident along with a neighbour who reported the matter to the police, claimed to have seen the child with bruises.
But the couple insist that they did not abuse the teenager.
The duo has since been waiting for the trial to end and Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh to make her decision.
But two years after the trial started, it has been adjourned once again.
The new court date is January 11 2023.
