Smacking could become illegal

Monday 22 June 1998 19:02 EDT

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Smacking could become illegal

A PARENTAL smack could become illegal after a human rights court hearing in Strasbourg yesterday. The case involves a 14-year-old boy whose own father helped him take legal action against his stepfather over regular canings. Aged nine, the boy was being beaten with a stick, the European Court of Human Rights was told. The stepfather had earlier been charged with assault - but found not guilty on the grounds that the punishment of the boy amounted to "reasonable chastisement".

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