San Pedro police beat up primary school student

Earlier in the newscast, we reported on the murder of a San Pedro resident, and now there is another disturbing report from the island. The incident has prompted reaction from Francis Wilson, the local Manager of Holy Cross Anglican School in San Pedro Town, who has written a letter expressing outrage over the beating of a student at the hands of a police officer. The boy, fifteen year old Valerio Zetina, who lives in the San Pedrito area of the island, is accusing a Special Constable of beating him while in custody.

Zetina, a standard six student, reported to News Five in the presence of his mother, thirty-one year old Elida Marin, that he and three friends were playing ball at the old football field near the San Pedro airstrip around seven forty-five on Saturday night. Zetina says two Belize Tourism Police officers arrived and searched all four of them. The child added that even though the officers found nothing on him, they took them to the police station and told them they were suspects for a stolen gulf cart. The officers, who were not identified, locked up the boys at the cell block. According to Zetina, at around one the next morning, another officer, Constable Mariano Chuc, called him and asked him why he was detained. Zetina replied that it was for a stolen gulf cart. Zetina says that Constable Chuc commented that he liked dealing with bad boys, like Zetina, and then punched him in the chest and stomach, causing him to throw up blood. When Zetina’s mother, Elida Marin learned that her son was in custody and visited the police station around six that morning, she was denied access to her son. She was finally allowed to see the boy two hours later when he was released. A doctor has classified the child’s injury as Harm. The Manager of Holy Cross School has written to the Commissioner of Police asking for a quick response to the incident.