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A Provo man is in Utah County Jail for beating his two sons with a golf club.
The abuse came to light to when Seok Hee Won's 9-year-old boy told his teacher at Edgemont Elementary School.
A school resource officer spotted 12 to 15 bruises on the boy's body. Provo police Capt. Cliff Argyle said, "It's very hard. When the school resource officer got there, it was very obvious that these were very deep bruises, very purple and red, very obvious that it's extremely painful."
The boy also told officers his older brother had also been hit, but he would not admit to it.
The father, Seok Hee Won, said he punished them because the younger child had loaned his bicycle to a neighbor friend without permission and the older son didn't stop it. He told police this type of punishment was normal in his native Korea.
"To him, it was just a case of discipline," Argyle said. "In his mind, he felt it was correct to discipline him for loaning his bike out."
The affidavit shows that police found, in a prior case from the Division of Child and Family Services, that Won was told this type of punishment was not allowed in this country.
Won was booked on two charges: second-degree felony child abuse and a class A misdemeanor.
Child Protective Services now has custody of the children.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
