A Nigerian man was sentenced to three years in jail by a London court, UK, for flogging his son.
The man, who has not been named, was found guilty of cruelty to a person under 16 years old, in a report published by PREMIUM TIMES.
The court heard that the man had repeatedly beaten his son with a belt and a wooden stick.
The abuse came to light after the boy’s mother found text messages on her husband’s phone in which he had threatened her and the boy not to tell anyone about what had happened.
Read Also: EFCC Re-Arrests Mompha Over N6bn Money Laundering Charges
The man initially received a suspended sentence, but this was overturned on appeal and he was jailed for three years.
The offender, 66, initially got away with 22 months imprisonment at the end of his trial at the Crown Court in Woolwich, South-east London, which the government disagreed with.
Following the government’s appeal against the trial court’s sentence, the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in London raised the punishment to three years jail term.
“The sentence of 22 months imprisonment will be quashed and replaced by a sentence of three years imprisonment,” the Court of Appeal ordered in its judgement delivered on 22 December 2022.
The trial Crown Court in Woolwich had sentenced the offender to a suspended sentence order, comprising a custodial term of 22 months, suspended for 12 months, with a two-month electronic curfew between 7.00 p.m. and 7.00 a.m.
In addition, the court ordered him to pay £250 in fees as well as £500 in damages to his kid, whose name was suppressed by the court due to his age. A victim surcharge, or fine, was also to be imposed, though the specific sum was not made public.
The court’s ruling omitted naming any of the people involved in the case as well as the location of the alleged crime in London. Because the case involves a minor, the court concealed the names.
The sentence issued by the Crown Court of Woolwich was challenged by the UK government, who argued that it was excessively mild. This was done through the Solicitor General for England and Wales.
