You Won't Believe How Relatives Punish 4-Year-Old Boy For Being ‘Naughty’!

The Chongqing Morning Post reports that a four-year-old boy cared for by relatives in western China is regularly tied to a tree if he misbehaves. The child, whose mother died of meningitis more than a year ago and father works in another city, lives with his aunt and uncle in Chongqing.

The uncle was spotted using a red silk rope to tie the boy to a tree, with one end winding round the child’s left armpit and right side of his neck. He released the boy after he had behaved well for a time and tied him back up as punishment if he was naughty. The aunt said they tethered the boy because he liked running around and had gone missing for more than 12 hours recently.

The boy was at the right age for kindergarten, but they could not afford the fees, the couple were quoted as saying. The aunt and uncle are in their 60s and also say they were too old to care for the boy properly. The report said the boy’s father owes tens of thousands of yuan to friends and relatives and was forced to leave home to work in another city where he makes less than 2,000 yuan (HK$2,300) a month.

Many residents in the neighbourhood have criticised the way the boy was treated, saying it would harm his self respect.