Father avoids jail for whipping autistic son with coat hanger
A father who disciplined his autistic son with a coat hanger has been hit with a $1200 fine, but has avoided jail.
Szu Sheng Lo from Canning Vale, about 16 kilometres south of Perth, argued that he whipped the 12-year-old because that’s how he’d been punished as a boy.
Mr Lo, 41, was convicted and fined for lashing out at his severely autistic son in a moment of rage.
He whipped his son Isaac across the legs with a coat hanger in the family home.
The man attacked the disabled child in front of horrified carers, who reported the incident to the police.
Mr Lo’s lawyer said he suffered a “meltdown” after an argument because the 12-year-old boy refused to change his shirt.
Magistrate Steven Malley was scathing of Mr Lo’s actions, saying “there was a problem as soon as you picked up that weapon.”
“To use it on your child is an appalling lack of judgement,” he added.
“Using a weapon on a vulnerable person is a serious offence.”
Autism experts say it’s not unusual for parents of autistic children to be pushed to breaking point.
“The stress levels that parents experience are akin to soldiers that come out of war,” Mandy Mason from the Learn Autism Centre said.
Mr Lo’s defence lawyer was pushing for a spent conviction, which the magistrate flatly rejected.
