Father of autistic boy in care tries to set himself on fire at Malaga television studio

The father of an 11-year-old boy with autism who has been in care since June tried to set himself alight in Malaga city to protest against the situation. The man allegedly doused himself with petrol and threatened to light a match at the Canal Sur radio and television studio on Sunday 6 September.

The incident happened at around 6pm when the man arrived at the studio on a motorbike and asked for help in English. According to sources, he intended to gain access to the building so that the regional television station could broadcast his situation. However, when he failed to do so, he allegedly grabbed a bottle of petrol and, in front of the entrance, poured the liquid over himself.

National and Local Police officers along with firefighters and medical services arrived at the scene and the area was cordoned off. An employee of Canal Sur took on the role of negotiator thanks to his fluency in English. According to sources, his intervention was crucial in calming the man down and diverting his attention to prevent him from setting himself alight.

The firefighters deployed high-pressure hoses and the police then stepped in to subdue him. Meanwhile, paramedics administered medication to calm him down and took him to hospital. His lawyer confirmed that the man only suffered minor burns and said, "he is calmer now; it was an act born of the helplessness of a father who felt overwhelmed. He did not want to take his own life, but it was an act of desperation."

The 50-year-old Romanian man has recently spoken to SUR about the legal action the family is taking to try to regain custody of their son, who had been taken away by the Andalusian regional government's social services in June. The decision followed an accident which happened in April and reports received from UK social services relating to the boy's situation when the family was living there.

On 28 April the boy fell from a first-floor window in Rincón de la Victoria and but was caught by an awning while in the care of his 17-year-old sister. This incident was compounded by reports sent from the United Kingdom on 11 May regarding alleged lack of supervision and irregular school attendance during his stay in the country, as well as a subsequent inspection of the home in which officials from the Andalusian regional government noted organisational and hygiene shortcomings. As a result, on 5 June, the regional office for social inclusion agreed to take the boy into provisional care.

The implementation of this measure led to the child being removed on 9 June following an interview with his mother, a process which the parents have questioned due to the lack of an interpreter and the abrupt manner in which it was carried out. On 16 June, the child was transferred to a care centre in Albox (Almeria province), a location more than 200 kilometres from his home, which makes it difficult to comply with the fortnightly visiting arrangements, the family claims.

Against this backdrop, on 29 July, the family filed a formal appeal against the decision to place the boy in care at a court in Malaga city. The appeal denies the serious neglect or negligence, considers the decision to to pu the boy into care to be a "disproportionate" measure and calls for the child to be returned to the family home.

The proceedings are currently pending the three-month legal deadline set by the Andalusian Law on children and adolescents for a final ruling to be issued, while the parents’ legal representatives have also brought the matter to the attention of the Andalusian Ombudsman.

Meanwhile, the care home management reported in July that the child was making positive progress, noting improvements in toilet training, medication management and his adaptation to the care home.

More reporting from the Axarquía area