punish, inform

報 is composed of the variant of 㚔 and 𠬝(to submit, to conquer). 㚔 depicts a shackles, while 𠬝 is the picture of a hand grabbing a kneeling man, which has already had the meaning of subduing or submission, both combine as a picture of a subdued and shackled man, its original meaning is punishment. Before we punished, we need to tell him what his wrongdoing is, so 報 also means informing and report.