Was the punishment deserved?

Was the punishment deserved?

 

Would you slap an eight-year-old boy across the face for repeatedly ringing your doorbell? That is exactly what a retired Cottesloe man did after months of enduring the prank but it seems many in his community would have taken the same action.

He found the eight-year-old boy in a laneway near his house, grabbed him by the shoulder and slapped him across the face four to five times before returning him to his mother ... 

After being the subject of four to five knock and runs a day for two months 62-year-old Derek Graham Roach decided to take matters into his own hands and when the doorbell rang for the second time at 5:45pm on December 11 he ran out to catch the neighbourhood kids responsible.

The incident at the core of the ABC's television series <i>The Slap</i> starring Melissa George.

The incident at the core of the ABC's television series The Slap starring Melissa George.

He found the eight-year-old boy in a laneway near his house, grabbed him by the shoulder and slapped him across the face four to five times before returning him to his mother, the court was told.

The boy had apparently been put up to the prank by a group of older boys.

The court found Mr Roach guilty of common assault and fined him $1000 for his actions but the verdict has outraged many people in his Perth community with Roach receiving over 60 emails of support and even offers to pay his fine.

Roach’s defence lawyer, Richard Lawson, told PerthNow that his client is feeling overwhelmed by the support he has received.

“He’s feeling much better about the support because he’s realised that people are of the same sort of school as him,” said Lawson.

But while his lawyer is adamant that Roach had no intention of harming the boy was it really appropriate to take such a drastic course of action?

A similar incident was explored in the award winning novel The Slap by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas. Where a friendly barbeque spiralled out of control after one of the guests slapped a three-year-old boy across the face for his intolerable behaviour.

The novel, and eight-part television series that followed the books’ success, divided the Australian public. On one side of the fence many felt that the child deserved what he got while those on the opposing side felt just as strongly that a child should never be disciplined in such a way, especially by a man who is not his father.

Apart from the eight-year-old boy's mother, it seems very few people have voiced their disapproval of Mr Roach's actions, with only a minute number expressing their opposition in emails.

But what do you think? Was Mr Roach right to take such a course of action in this instance or did he deserve the punishment he received? Join the discussion on Essential Kids or leave your comment below.