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R/£ 'I think I love you for helping me'
November 24, 2008 Edition 3
The boy who had no contact with the outside world for four years spent a night at neighbours Clint and Ashleigh's house, during which time he was given new clothes, cleaned up and fed.
At first he seemed panicked by the new surroundings.
Later in the bath, he hummed and sang, said Clint. And that night, he took Ashleigh's hand and said: "I think I love you for helping me."
What struck the couple was that after they gave the boy toys, he said he needed to hide them, or else his father would beat him.
The next morning, Joburg Child Welfare arrived to take the boy. He is currently in the child psychiatric ward of a hospital.
The father, who appeared delusional, spoke to The Star and said he couldn't tell why he had kept the boy locked up. He said he had been planning to send him to school, but blamed a lack of documentation, such as ID books and birth certificates, for the delay.
The boy's mother was apparently a domestic worker who had a relationship with her employee, the boy's father. The parents lived together on and off for about four years before the mother disappeared.
The father said his friends had no idea he had a son. When they visited, the boy was told to hide.
The neighbours, some of whom had known him since the 1980s, also had no idea.
His next-door neighbour said that during the past few months she had heard the boy in the garden. They were all shocked to know that the boy had been concealed on the property for such a long time.
The hospital where the boy is being monitored confirmed that he was talking to the staff, but was still "sick".
It is believed that a criminal case has been opened. - Kanina Foss and Alex Eliseev
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