Parents in Australia claimed their son was suffering from cancer – but it was made up. They stole the equivalent of over 36,000 euros.
A couple from Australia are said to have claimed their son was suffering from eye cancer. They collected donations for the treatment and raised 60,000 Australian dollars (around 36,000 euros). But as it turns out, according to 9 News, the boy was never sick.
Boys should have their heads and eyebrows shaved
They allegedly “shave their six-year-old child’s head and eyebrows and put him in a wheelchair with bandages.” “This was to simulate stereotactic radiotherapy,” John De Candia of the South Australia Police said in a statement.
The child's mother works in a hair salon, writes “9 News”. There, the 44-year-old allegedly asked a colleague to help shave the boy's hair and eyebrows.
Son Allegedly Has Cancer: Couple Earns $60,000 Australian
De Candia explains: “We believe that this pseudo-illness is causing significant and serious psychological harm to the child and his sibling.” The children are now with a relative.
The couple is said to have incurred $60,000 in expenses over a two-week period. The case was reported to the police on November 26, reports De Candia.
On Friday, the couple appeared in court where they were charged with fraud, among other things, writes “news.com.au”. If found guilty, they face a maximum prison sentence of seven years. According to Judge Alison Adair, the father was said to have been less involved in the fraud than the mother.
