Father arrested for burning son over TikTok

A father who severely injured his thirteen-year-old son by burning his back with a hot iron rod for watching TikTok videos on his mobile phone instead of studying, has been arrested by Deniyaya Police. The arrested individual is a thirty-eight-year-old father of three, residing in the Deniyaya area.

After committing this inhumane act, the suspect also attempted to evade the police and remain in hiding for several days.

The police had been monitoring the family involved in this incident even before it occurred, and the suspect father's wife has also been severely ill for a long time. Police investigations have confirmed that this crime took place on the night of the 26th. On that morning, the father had left for daily wage work, forgetting his mobile phone at home, and the children who remained at home used the phone to watch TikTok videos. In the evening, the father returned home, instructed the children to study, and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Later, when he came to check on the children's activities, he saw them watching videos on the phone instead of studying, became extremely angry, and took a hot iron rod from the hearth to inflict this inhumane punishment on his eldest child.

The father's cruel act was revealed the next day after the injured child went to school and informed the teachers about it. Understanding the situation, the school principal immediately intervened and took steps to admit the child to Deniyaya Base Hospital for treatment, and as further treatment was required, he was later transferred to Matara General Hospital.

In connection with this incident, a group of officers, including Deniyaya Police Station OIC Chief Inspector Chandana Amaratne, visited the house to observe the family's current situation. There, they witnessed an extremely distressing scene where the residents had nothing to eat. Seeing the helplessness of the children and the ailing mother, the OIC and other police officers were kind enough to pool their own money and purchase essential food items for the household. Arrangements have been made to present the arrested suspect father before the Morawaka Magistrate's Court, and Deniyaya Police are conducting further extensive investigations into the incident.