RIYADH — The family protection unit under the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in Makkah has taken custody of an infant girl who was allegedly brutalized by her father, local media reported on Wednesday.
The officials responded after several video clips showing the man's cruelty to the child went viral on social media websites.
The girl's mother had initially posted the videos on Twitter. The videos showed a man, purportedly the infant’s father, treating her with extreme cruelty.
The officials were able to contact the girl's mother, the ministry’s spokesman Khaled Abal Khail said.
The online newspaper Sabq reported late Wednesday quoting unnamed sources that the protection teams reached the house of the infant’s father in Makkah, in coordination with the authorities concerned.
The sources said the child’s mother lived in Madinah.
The woman who posted the videos claimed that she was a Syrian national and accused the infant’s Saudi father of brutalizing their child.
The woman claimed that her husband had taken custody of the child when she became one month old. He then started torturing the child and sent her the video clips to blackmail her.
Abal Khail said he had asked the woman to contact him so that the ministry's officials could obtain further details about the father to complete the required procedures.
He subsequently announced that the ministry’s teams had reached the woman in Madinah.
With the help of information obtained from the mother, officials from the family protection unit reached the father's house and took the girl into their custody, Aba Alkhail said, adding that the girl would undergo a medical checkup.
The Human Rights Commission also responded to the incident. The commission said it was in contact with public security officials to ensure that the perpetrator gets the punishment he deserves.
A hashtag created by the mother stirred numerous responses. The woman appealed that her daughter be rescued from the assailant, who should be taken to task.
Several tweets demanded the man be given the severest of punishments for brutalizing the young girl.
