Assault on boy ‘a culture thing’

A father who slapped his 5-year-old son repeatedly, after the boy wandered off in a shopping mall, has told a judge the assault was ‘‘a culture thing’’.

The 35-year-old man pleaded guilty in Christchurch District Court yesterday to a charge of assault, offering an apology for his actions. The incident happened about 3.45pm on November 7 at Westfield Mall in Riccarton, Christchurch.

The man reported to the mall’s security kiosk that he had lost his son, but five minutes later he found the boy near Muffin Break in the food court.

He hit the boy about four times, slapping him on the rear of his head and causing him to lose balance. He pushed the child down on his stomach and hit him again on the back of his head with an open hand. They then left the mall in a vehicle. The boy was not injured.

‘‘In explanation, the defendant stated that he hit his son twice with his right hand on the face. He stated it’s a culture thing,’’ the police said.

Judge Gerard Lynch dismissed the man’s explanation. ‘‘Whether that is true or not, we all know the law is that we cannot use physical force against any person, particularly not our children.’’

The man’s lawyer told the court he owed ‘‘a big apology to his son and his family’’. ‘‘It has been a big wake-up call,’’ she said. ‘‘He promises such a thing will never happen again.’’

Judge Lynch decided that instead of a sentence of community work or a fine, he would release the man on supervision for nine months and ask Community Probation permission to send him to counselling, or have him do programmes such as parenting and anger management.