Hastings District Councillor
Henare O'Keefe speaks at a
Karakia in Flaxmere for severely injured child
after a brutal beating at home
Members of the extended family of a brutally injured 4-year-old Flaxmere boy claim he wasn't assaulted.
They also claim the boy's earlier injuries, which caught the attention of Oranga Tamariki, came from a fall from a bouncy castle, Stuff reports.
The boy's "suspicious" injuries, including widespread bruising and a brain injury, were previously compared by Detective Inspector Mike Foster to the injuries sustained by murdered 6-year-old James Whakaruru.
The boy suffered a sustained beating - possibly over days - at a Ramsey Cres address nearly three weeks ago on January 29, Foster said.
He remained in a stable condition at the Starship Hospital on Tuesday. A spokeswoman said "stable" meant his vital signs were within normal parameters.
On Monday the boy's uncles in South Auckland spoke to Stuff just before they were headed to the hospital.
One of the boy's uncles said attention from authorities started when his nephew fell off a bouncy castle while playing with his cousins.
The house on Ramsey Crescent, Flaxmere, where the four-year-old was brutally injured. Photo / Warren Buckland
"They're too big, they're way bigger than him, they're like giants to him.
"[Oranga Tamariki] said it was okay for him to go back."
No one in Hastings, where the boy resided, has spoken publicly about the incident.
Police said previously the family were withholding crucial information, but have declined to comment on updates to the investigation in recent days.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has urged any silent family members who have information to come forward.
Opposition Leader Simon Bridges, on Tuesday, announced a National government would introduce a new offence to criminalise the non-disclosure of information relating to child abuse cases.
"As a former Crown Prosecutor and father of three children I know something needs to be done about the appalling rates of child abuse in this country," Bridges said.
"I can't stand by and watch stories in the news about children being killed and injured where nobody is held to account."
He said the new offence would have a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
"The law would require someone to give police information unless they had a reasonable excuse not to.
"It would be similar to the Failure to Disclose offence which was introduced in Victoria in 2014 for child sex abuse cases," Bridges said.
Act Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke on Tuesday called for a new offence of "failing to co-operate with police investigating a case of child abuse".
"The offence will apply when a child has sustained serious non-accidental injuries and police have reasonable grounds to believe that a person has knowledge about the child's injuries," Houlbrooke said.
"If it's good enough for fisheries officers, it's good enough for police investigating the abuse of a 4-year-old in Flaxmere."
