New Zealand – An 80-year-old Taranaki man who assaulted a child with a plastic alkathene pipe has said he believed he was following the Bible.
The man pleaded guilty to two charges of assaulting a child and assault with a blunt instrument when he appeared in New Plymouth District Court on Thursday, the Taranaki Daily News has reported.
His lawyer, Paul Keegan, says the incident was out of character.
“He is a Christian man and believes firmly in traditional methods of discipline,” he says.
The man told police he had been “seeking to correct him in the manner described in the Bible”, after the boy stole $1000 from him.
He will be sentenced on February 12 and has been granted interim name suppression until then.
The inspirational verses:
Proverbs 13:24
He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
Proverbs 23:13-14
Do not hold back discipline from the child, although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. You shall strike him with the rod and rescue his soul from Sheol.
You can’t help but be moved by the word of God inspiring people into action. Seeing the Holy Spirit move through the merciless beating of children is a beautiful thing to behold. There is a reason why Christians call it the “Good News”.
Tags: Abuse, Bible, Child, Christian, Christianity, God, Inspired, Jesus, Proverbs, Rod, Word
December 17, 2009 at 9:40 pm |
“…after the boy stole $1000 from him.”
Bible or not Bible, I think most people would beat somebody with a pipe if they stole $1000 dollars from you in a recession.
And leave it to the communist media to tell us how old the stupid old man is but not how old the so-called “child” is. Probably as old as 17.
December 17, 2009 at 9:44 pm |
So it would be okay to beat a 17-year-old with a pipe because the Bible said to? Using the Bible to justify assaulting any person is abhorrent. Even you should agree with that.
December 18, 2009 at 10:04 am |
Well, I don’t really care if the Bible allows or not allows it. For that sum of money involved in a theft, anyone is justified at beating someone with something hard, especially over the head.
Moot point, and you probably shouldn’t have pulled this out because you look like you’re in support of some schmuck getting away with dishonest idiocy without so much as a hard knock. >_>
December 18, 2009 at 11:51 am
As I’ve mentioned in other comments, this isn’t a case of self defense or defense of property. He beat the kid after the fact to punish him.
If it is justified to take the law into your own hands, I don’t think you would like the outcome. Every person you’ve wronged would be coming after you with a pipe. The legal system sucks, but without it we are nothing more than a primitive society.
On the other hand, if someone breaks into your home and you catch them in the act you are fully justified in protecting yourself and your property. But violent post crime revenge is nothing more than vigilante justice. I obviously don’t want the thief to get away with the crime. But it is not our legal right to exact wrathful punishment on everyone who wrongs us.
December 18, 2009 at 11:12 pm |
“So it would be okay to beat a 17-year-old with a pipe because the Bible said to?”
I didn’t say that. I said with or without the Bible you would do it.
December 18, 2009 at 1:56 am |
Yes yo if I caught someone stealing 1000 from me I would use force to prevent that. Since we don’t have all the information about when the beating took place, we can’t say it happened while the money was being taken. I very much doubt that had the kid been taking the money at the time the man used the pipe on the kid there would have been charges drawn against him.
December 18, 2009 at 8:38 am |
The article says he did it as “punishment”, not in defense of the act. If he had, it wouldn’t be assault, but rather self defense. The article isn’t specific, but it’s pretty clear this was done after the money was stolen to punish the boy.
December 18, 2009 at 3:30 pm |
Two wrongs make a right, yo?
That’s very Christian.
December 18, 2009 at 11:14 pm |
I’m not arguing in favor of Christianity, just that using this to attack it is lame.
December 18, 2009 at 7:59 pm |
1. The New Zealanders would be surprised to learn that their media is “communist.” Although they do have some state radio stations, NZ news and entertainment is dominated by a few corporations.
2. It’s the court that is suppressing the name of the minor, not the media.
3. There are banks in NZ, so it’s pretty odd for someone to have $1,000. somewhere where it could be stolen by a minor.
4. I agree that the old man is stupid. It would seem obvious to most people that he attacked the kid to try to get his money back, and could well be BSing about the “Biblical” motivation.
Personally, I’m not in favor of physical punishment of any kind. I’m in favor of having felons pick up litter, do laundry for the homeless, repair our infrastructure, plant trees, etc.
December 18, 2009 at 11:15 pm |
“It’s the court that is suppressing the name of the minor, not the media.”
They’re suppressing the name of the old man. And I didn’t say name of the “child” I said his age. We get to know the old man is 80, but we can’t know the age of the “child” because then we’d know he aint so much a child.
December 18, 2009 at 12:45 am |
There are just too many details missing here.
-How bad was the beating?
-How strong and heavy was that pipe?
-What are the laws in NZ about corporal punishment?
-Is there a medical report? If so, what does it say?
……………. Just too much unknown to even know if this is outrageous, normal, silly, blown our of proportion,……
December 18, 2009 at 8:43 am |
I agree that the article should have been much more specific. But regardless of the severity of injury, it is considered assault to beat a person with a pipe to punish a person. This was done after the fact as punishment, not in self defense. Proper punishment and sentencing is the job of the legal system, not the job of citizens armed with a pipe and an archaic rule book.
December 18, 2009 at 11:34 am |
OT with regards to this case, but don’t rely too much on the legal system. It is prone to completely breaking down. Especially if the guilty party has deep pockets and influence, and the victim, well, has jack especially after he’s been fleeced or otherwise disabled.
The legal system may not lie like God and his servants do, but unlike God it has its buying price. Such is the truth. <_<
December 18, 2009 at 1:01 pm |
A little Googling turns up that “Alkathene” is a trademark for flexible plastic tubing (pipe) made of Low density polyethylene, used for carrying water; including, for example, in agricultural applications.
Pictures in suppliers’ online catalogs show something that looks stiffer than a garden hose but not rigid like PVC.
Of course, it comes in a range of sizes.
December 18, 2009 at 11:17 pm |
Any links that allow you to order the stuff for beating thieving “children” with?
December 21, 2009 at 1:04 am |
How do they know what the ‘rod’ means? It could mean “Penis”! This could be SEXUAL.
January 18, 2010 at 9:25 pm |
You know, if I heard this story anywhere else it’d be “Badass 80 year old beats the shit out of punk who tried to rob him”. Now we have to demonize him because he’s a christian? Grow the fuck up.
February 12, 2010 at 1:05 pm |
Article Marketing and Blogging – How to Write Powerful Attention – Getting Posts in Minute