A father in Saudi Arabia has blamed his wife for him slapping his baby daughter because she could not stand up. Yousif Alqutai was filmed striking the little girl on the face and back every time she tumbled to the floor.
He even grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and dangled her as she continued to cry. Alqutai was arrested and issued an apology video in which he said his wife, mother of his four children, was to blame for abuse that caused him psychological damage. He said that the video was taken a long time ago and now wants forgiveness. He said: ‘As you can all see now she is perfectly fine. I tried to teach her to walk and now look by the grace of God she walks by herself.’
The footage of him slapping his child caused a huge backlash. Lebanese actress Nadine Nassib Njeim retweeted it saying the authorities needed to get involved. She said: ‘Children Protection Associations need to intervene urgently for sure! But honestly this toddler is damaged in a way or another!
‘The way he hit her on the head. I can’t take her out of my head! What is happening to humanity? It’s insane!’ A police spokesman in Saudi Arabia said: ‘The man, a Palestinian national in his 40s, has been identified as the culprit and he was arrested from the Casablanca neighbourhood, south of Riyadh city.’ They added that the children would be provided with the ‘necessary care’ after the video emerged.