The Curious Case of the Death of Siasiam

My New Year Resolution: To stop reading Manipur Express and The Lamka Post.

A young boy of barely 15, Siasiam, suffered internal bleeding, apart from others, after being given corporal punishment by the warden at Angel’s Place on November 25, 2009. He was admitted to the Lamka District Hospital after three days. After three damn days. The hospital admission’s records on November 28, 2009 (9:05, pm precisely) note the patient as having “multiple bruise injury over the back, back of both LL (I don’t know what LL means)… injury/blow … swollen hands.” Provisional diagnosis is listed as “anemia following assault.” Haemoglobin was only 4.8 and 5 units of blood transfusion was recommended ASAP.

Soon, rumors began to spread and eventually reached the media. Reporters visited the boy at the hospital, took some pictures and wrote detailed reports about the incident. And yet somehow these reports never found their way into the newspapers. The manager of Angel’s Place, Ruata created a scene at the hospital as well as at the newsrooms of various local papers and cable operators, telling them not to write or broadcast anything related to the incident. He even threatened them. Which is why the incident was never reported in the local papers, except for The Sangai Express. A 15-year-old inmate of Angel's Place, a children home was admitted in the District Hospital due to internal injuries sustained in the course of punishment by his warden, says the report. Read here further.

Apparently, Lamka media remained virtually silent on this. And even family members were in the dark.

Somehow Siasiam’s aunt got the news that their boy was admitted to the hospital following a severe thrashing and torture, and after staying there for a couple of nights, he was brought back to the home even as doctors at the hospital referred him to be treated at Imphal. She went to the home and confronted Ruata. As she was led into the room, she was shocked to see a pale delicate-looking Siasiam who was always playful and energetic, lying with urinary catheter dangling down beside the bed. She asked, “What had our boy done? What did he do to bear this?” Ruata said, “Let us not talk about what had been done. Instead, let us talk about how we should go about dealing with difficult children.”

When Siasiam’s mother visited him, she asked, “Bawi, what happened? What did they do to you?” Siasiam could not respond. He was intimidated by the presence of staffs around. He simply said, “He nu, I will tell you when I recover.”

Thereafter, family members and relatives were not allowed to visit Siasiam anymore. Wardens at the home told them that he was okay and that they did not need to worry about him. On one occasion, they said, “You can’t meet him right now, he’s busy playing football with his friends.” Poor family members believed them and went back home, thinking that their boy was fine. They didn’t hear anything back from the home.

Until December 29, 2009 when he was admitted to the Regional Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) in Imphal. Records from the hospital state the provisional diagnosis as severe anemia. Unlike the previous hospital stay, Siasiam could be with her mother this time and I guess this would mean so much to him. Venesection was done the next day as doctors failed to insert IV cannula. But his condition progressively worsened.

At 3:35 am December 31, 2009 he passed away in the loving arms of his mother. To be with the angels in heaven. The real Angels’ place. Where there are no tears, no pain, no torture, no death. Only joy and peace and love.

The body was buried in Singngat the same day without an autopsy being performed. The home made a non-examining physician write a death certificate stating that the cause of death was blood cancer and that this had nothing to with corporal punishment. Note that according to the RIMS’ Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, the immediate cause of death was pulmonary oedema and antecedent cause as anemia. No where in the record is there any indication of blood cancer.

The home gave Rs. 3000 as compensation to the mother.

Emotions betray the poor mother. She still cries today, not tears of grief, but because the death of her son makes her feel so bad and guilty that she had done nothing to save her loving son and that she was not able to be with him when he needed her most. Her son didn't get to tell her what really happened on the 25th November, 2009 at Angel's Place. Yet.

As for me, I've stopped reading Manipur Express and The Lamka Post since New Year. They don't tell stories that matter. I don't believe them anymore.

Related article: An Angel's Death by Lealyan Thawmte