Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (Ministry of VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake on Tuesday stated he was surprised by the statements attributed to the father of the nine-year-old girl who was severely beaten by a man on May 15 in South Reward, that he hasn’t heard anything from the Minister.
“I never saw the father but only had contact with the mother of the child. The same day the dad went to the newspaper, the mother of the child was in my office following up with my Executive Secretary on the well-being of the child.
“When I contacted the mother about the father making these remarks in the newspaper, she said she didn’t know he made these statements to the paper.
“I don’t know what the father’s motives are because he was never in the picture from the beginning, but as a Good Samaritan I got the good corporate sponsor to assist the child.
“The corporate sponsor wanted to hire a private specialist to assist the child with her trauma, but student support services are working with the child. The agreement with the mother is once she gets all the doctor bills and the little girl gets the stitches removed, the corporate sponsor will assist with a donation related to the doctor bills.
“All of this was communicated to the mother of the child, and she agreed to bring the bills. I also tried to assist the mother to get her residence papers together.
“I find it ironic that the father went to the newspaper rather than asking the child’s mother about the situation. I will continue to assist the little girl with respect to the good corporate sponsor once the mother brings all the doctor bills.
“The father should have gotten his facts straight before running to a newspaper to dramatize the situation. It’s all about getting the child back on the road to a happy recovery, and being in high spirits and living a normal life,” Minister Hon. Maurice Lake said on Tuesday.