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Former social development minister Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh says the State must intervene and ensure that the 15-year-old boy who allegedly chopped his mother gets help. The boy's father, according to National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, has rejected counselling offered by the Children's Authority (CA) for his son. Dillon in Parliament on Friday said the CA reached out to the boy's father, but the father said he will "call" the CA, since the family "wasn't ready" to talk to anyone.
Asked if the Authority could force the boy and his family to submit to counselling, Ramadharsingh via Whatsapp said "The Children's Authority can intervene as I understood it." He said CA has "wide powers and authority" for these situations. (The Authority) can provide the mother with psycho social support and the young man guidance and direction for a life that can be a new one based on counselling, support, and dedication to living a life that will help him move on from a regrettable and unfortunate act already done and move on to a positive life."
Clinical psychologist Dr Katija Khan said she did not know the intricacies of the situation, but recommended that the teenager and the family seek psychological help. Through counselling, she said, any other type of care the teenager and his family may be in need of could be assessed. Khan did not want to speculate but believed the issue was more complex than the teenager acting out simply because his mother took away his cellphone or scolded him about his school work. "Usually there is a combination of factors," Khan said.
Yesterday, the teenager's aunt told Sunday Guardian she does not know where her nephew is or with whom he is staying. "He not staying there (at their Waterloo home). His father not saying (where he is)," said the aunt. Asked the condition of the boy's mother, she said she did not know because no one was being allowed to visit her at the San Fernando General Hospital. The father was not at his Butler Village home when Sunday Guardian visited.
Couva North MP Ramona Ramdial said she tried through her office to contact the father, but she was unsuccessful. However, she said her office was ready to lend support to the family whenever they are ready. She was hopeful that the family will do the right thing and seek counselling privately if they do not want to accept help through the State.
The boy allegedly chopped his mother, almost severing her hand, on April 19 at their home. However, the teenager was released from police custody last Wednesday without being charged due to the lack of evidence. The teenager's mother has not given the police a statement and is unwilling to press charges against her son, police said. Attempts to reach CA's chairman Haniff Benjamin on his cellphone were unsuccessful.