A 24-year-old mother of three who is accused of beating her six-year-old child until he bled profusely, was given a stern warning before being granted $60,000 bail in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate's Court.

Investigating Officer, Kirk Roache of the Guanaboa Vale police, told the court that on June 10, members of a police party received numerous phone calls of a child being beaten severely by his parent. A team went to the address and was taken aback, when the mother barged out of the house and said, "Mi beat him and so wah?"

The detective said the child came out of the house shortly after and was observed with wounds to the neck, back, shoulders and other parts of his body.

With several visitors to the court sighing and policemen having to shout for order, an officer said that when the child was taken to the Spanish Town Hospital, the doctor expressed concerns and could not count the number of cuts on his body.

The RM Marcia Dunbar-Green asked Roache why the mother was only being charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and not child abuse, but the mother quickly pointed out she was not guilty of child abuse.

"I only beat him because I told him not to go to the basic school before coming home in the evenings. I did not want to cut him," she said. But the RM said she seemed to be filled with anger and that was not the way to deal with a child. She warned her that her child could be taken away.