Video of Toddler Drinking Rum Goes Viral: Police Searching for Child and Parents
Belizeans were outraged today when not one, but two, videos surfaced of a little boy apparently being encouraged to drink rum by two adults. The Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, got personally involved, asking for help in locating the little one who is clearly drinking just to please the very people who should be protecting him. Instead they appear to be exploiting him for their own amusement. A late evening release from the Government of Belize condemns the video while referring to it as “disturbing.” The release goes on to say that actions shown in the video show a form of child abuse, going against the core value of Belizean society and the need to protect the morals, health, and wellbeing of our children. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
A child was being encouraged to drink rum by a man who videoed the entire ordeal. The amateur video shows the child on a bicycle with a bottle of “Badman” in his hand. In the video, a male voice is heard saying, “Take a shot ah the bad man”. A female voice is then heard saying, “Yo have to take a shot”. The child is then seen holding the bottle to his mouth, bottoms up, as he apparently consumed the highly concentrated rum. Laughs of approval are then heard as the male voice asked the child,” How it taste?” The child reappeared in a second video wearing the exact same clothing. It appeared as if the very same male voice was behind the camera. In this one, the interaction between the man and the child is over a gang related group known as ‘Gaza’. The male is heard telling the child to repeat the word Gaza, with expletives. And then, for a second time, the man offered the child a drink of alcohol. The child again consumed the drink while being recorded. The video is hard to watch, and we had to blur the child’s face for obvious reasons. The Department of Human Services is reportedly already on the matter. Reports are that, along with police, they are searching for the location of little boy. The Commissioner of Police also issued a statement via social media asking anyone who knows the little one to contact him personally via Facebook Messenger or his PR office. Commissioner Williams said, “This is an outright case of child abuse and or neglect that cannot be countenanced. This clearly shows that some among us have certainly lost their sense of humanity, caring and nurturing of our children. The fabric of our society is certainly in need of repair and it must start from within the homes”.
Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
