Police arrest father who punched child while hanging on window grills in Laguna

December 27, 2018

Police arrested a father of the child whom he beat several times while tied upside down in their home in Santa Rosa, Laguna last December 18. In a video which went viral on social media, Melvin Batitis, the child's father, punched his crying four year-old son who hanged upside down to the window grills. The boy was also asked by the suspect about his mother before he was punched. In an interview over dzBB, Superintendent Eugene Orate, Santa Rosa police chief, said they arrested Batitis, a tricycle driver, at 11:38 am Thursday. Upon initial investigation, Batitis beat his son to blackmail his wife. "According to the suspect, what he did was a form of blackmail against his wife who went to Iloilo," Orate said. Orate said the suspect sent the video to the Facebook account of his wife to make her to return to their home. Batitis' wife returned to Iloilo province on Dec. 13 after an argument. The victim's mother will go to Laguna to fetch the boy, said Orate. Social welfare officers of Sta Rosa rescued the boy on Tuesday after being informed by residents. The child's father was not present. Investigation showed the incident happened on Dec. 18. The child is under custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Police are waiting for medical results on the victim. Batitis will be held by the Santa Rosa police until charges of violating the Anti=Child Abuse Law are filed against him. He will also undergo drug testing, police said. Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS