Children are not private property of their parents

ON AUG 8, the local police in Jinan city, capital of East China's Shandong province, issued a press release about a man beating his 15-year-old son to death. Beijing News comments:

According to the statement by the police, the man told the boy to work in the fields but when he arrived home at about 7 pm, he found the boy had not done as he instructed. He then kicked and beat his son with a stick, and did not send him to hospital even though his son was badly wounded. The boy later died at home.

Now the suspect has been detained by the local police and he is expected to face criminal charges. However, a deeper look into the case finds the boy's death could have been avoided.