Dad told child to lie about why he had to get stitches
A FATHER who threw a cordless phone at his son after the boy laughed about him disciplining his brother has faced court.
Ipswich Magistrates Court heard the child needed two stitches and his dad told him to lie to doctors in order to a avoid detection.
The 44-year-old man was angry his child had lashed out at his other son and threw a cordless phone at him, the court was told.
A couple of days later, on May 15, the child's teachers noticed his stitches and phoned police.
His mother said she had heard a "fight, yelling and a bang" and tried to find out what happened.
Prosecutor Senior Constable Brad Dick said asking the child to lie to hospital staff was an aggravating feature, but later the father made full admissions.
Defence lawyer David Milwater said his client actually threw "an Impulse deodorant can" at the child, but missed.
Mr Milwater said the man "lost his temper" and had since seen psychiatrist about the incident.
He said Child Safety had investigated the incident and concluded the act was out of character and it was unlikely the father would ever reoffend.
"He lost his temper while trying to discipline his children - he meant to throw the can, but didn't mean to hit the child," he said.
His lawyer said the man was very remorseful about the incident and had a good work history.
He pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and was released on a $500 good behaviour bond.
Magistrate Michael Quinn accepted the offence was not a normal situation compared to other offences as it came down to an "error of judgement" on the father's part.
Mr Quinn said there had been limited injuries and it was unlikely the father would ever reoffend.
A conviction was not recorded.
