Police freed an 87-year-old man in Celaya, Guanajuato, who was being kept in a wooden cage by his daughter.

The caged man, identified only as Bonifacio, was discovered when officers arrived at his 54-year-old daughter’s home in the Jacarandas neighborhood to execute a court-ordered seizure of personal property as payment of a debt she owed to the National Workers Housing Fund. 

While removing the property in question, officers heard cries for help and went to investigate. They discovered the man locked inside a wooden-planked box with a small hole at the top through which he had been fed.

The cage had to be dismantled in order to free the man, who was dirty, disheveled and appeared to be in poor health with a condition that affected both his legs. Bonifacio was unable to tell authorities how long he had been inside the box.

He was taken to a hospital for treatment while his daughter was taken into custody. 

According to Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), the country’s elderly population generally does not report abuse due to the family ties that exist with their aggressors, economic and physical dependence on their abuser, or the lack of access to law enforcement agencies.

A 2017 study estimated 12.6 million senior citizens in Mexico had experienced abuse and mistreatment. 

Source: El Universal (sp)