The father of Maluafou College’s head boy says police have yet to act after his 17-year-old son was brutally assaulted by five men in Vaigaga, leaving him in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on life support.

Blessing Fale was attacked on the eve of White Sunday while walking home, according to his father, Fale Kuresa, who spoke to the Samoa Observer on Monday at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole (TTM) National Hospital’s ICU.

“It’s been one whole week and nothing has happened,” Kuresa said. “I ask that they (Police) do their job because my son is in pain. It’s very hard right now.”

He said his son suffered serious head injuries that required major surgery. “Some part of his head is lost, it will scar,” he said. “It hurts the most because it happened right on White Sunday, and today he was supposed to sit his final exams.”

Kuresa said his wife, Vini Fale, has struggled to cope with their son’s condition. “As a mother it is not easy to see her child like this,” he said. The couple, who have seven children, live in Vaitele-Fou but are originally from Falealupo and Toamua.

According to Kuresa, a woman who witnessed the assault told him she saw Blessing being hit and kicked by several men while others stood by with sticks, shouting to stop cars from intervening. He said police and a couple brought his son to the hospital that night.

“The couple found my poor son lying on the ground and came with the police,” he said. “The word reached us after 1 am, and when we arrived, the doctors were already operating on him.”

Kuresa said he contacted police two days after the incident and later met them on Wednesday, but he has seen little progress. “They told me they went to the suspects’ families but found no one. They even asked me for photos of the suspects to post online,” he said. The case is being handled by officer Viane Faletoese.

In response to queries, Acting Police Commissioner Leiataua Samuelu Afamasaga said he would follow up before commenting further. “I will follow up with the hospital regarding your news and then confirm tomorrow, don’t do a release, ring again,” Leiataua told the Samoa Observer.

When informed that the newspaper had already spoken with the father, the Acting Commissioner asked, “Do you have the father’s phone number?”

Kuresa said police visited the suspects’ families again this week but have not made any arrests. “It’s hard, but my son is still alive,” he said. “The doctors told us it will take time for him to recover.”

Blessing remains in critical condition and on life support at the TTM National Hospital. His father is urging Vaigaga residents to come forward with any information that could help the investigation.