Pregnant mother burns son over alleged GH¢5 theft

A pregnant mother is in the hands of the police in Takoradi after she used a hot iron to burn the face and other parts of his 10-year-old son for an alleged theft.

The suspect, Veronica Ocran who is a petty trader allegedly ran her patient short after she failed to elicit an admission from her son to the alleged theft of ¢5.10p.

According to the police, Veronica is said to have woken the son from his sleep at about 4a.m. last Friday and questioned him why he had reportedly stolen the amount from a schoolmate.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Takoradi District Commander, Superintendent of Police, Mr. Peter Ofori Donkor said Veronica had a report that the son had stolen somebody’s money in school and confronted her son about it.

The 10-year-old is reported to have denied ever stealing anybody’s money, but the unsatisfied mother picked the cane and lashed the boy.

Unable to bear the caning any longer, the boy is said to have held onto the cane, but the mother decided another punishment – plugging and heating the iron before pinning her son down and pressing his face and other parts of the body with the hot iron.

It was in the course of extracting the confession from the son that she lost her temper and burned him until neighbours responded to the boy’s screams for help.