Chinese boy, 10, left by father to beg at railway station as punishment for not finishing his homework
- Child says his father gave him a bowl and told him to kneel and ‘beg for food’
- Forcing children to scavenge is no way to discipline them, police say
Police who found a boy begging at Shanghai railway station early on Thursday discovered he was left there by his father as punishment for not finishing his homework, Kankanews.com reported.
Officers responded to a 4.45am call that a boy with a schoolbag was on his knees, begging for food, the website said on Tuesday. The child, who had only a jacket for warmth, told them he was left there 45 minutes earlier when his father went to work. “I was reported by the teacher. I didn’t finish my homework,” the boy said.
The father gave him a bowl and told him to kneel and “beg for food as punishment”, he said. Asked if his father was drunk, the boy said “no”.
The officers took him to the police station, gave him a hot drink and biscuits and contacted his mother, who arrived an hour later with an overcoat.
She said the father was very upset that their son was often reported for not doing his homework but that she did not agree with the father’s reaction.