Father arrested after video of him slapping his toddler daughter because she wouldn't stand or walk goes viral
A man in Saudi Arabian who was seen in video footage slapping his screaming baby daughter because she wouldn't walk has been arrested.
Yousif Alqutai, a Palestinian living in Riyadh, was caught on camera hitting the toddler across the face and on the back every time she tried and failed to walk independently, Daily Mail reports. In a rather cruel bid to get her to stand, the father is seen grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and dangling her above the ground as she wails in pain.
According to The New Arab, Alqutai pleaded forgiveness and said the video was taken a long time ago. "As you can all see now she is perfectly fine," he said in a social media apology video featuring the girl. "I tried to teach her to walk and now look by the grace of God she walks by herself."
However, the original clip has since gone viral and sparked a huge backlash online. Several observers called on authorities to intervene and take disciplinary action. One of them was Lebanese actress Nadine Nassib Njeim, who retweeted a post about the incident.
"Children Protection Associations need to intervene urgently for sure! But honestly, this toddler is damaged in a way or another!" the tweet read. "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!"
Police eventually moved to identify Alqutai and detained him. "The man, a Palestinian national in his 40s, has been identified as the culprit and he was arrested from the Casablanca neighborhood, south of Riyadh city," a police spokesperson said, per the Saudi Gazette.
According to the officer, the Saudi police would "provide necessary care to his four children." The disturbing video shows the cruel parent sitting on the floor and trying to get his daughter to stand. When she fails and her knees buckle, Alqutai is seen slapping her on the cheek.
He then proceeds to grab her right ankle and tip her on to the floor before slapping her once again, this time on the back.
Alqutai blamed his wife and mother of his four children for abuse against him in the apology video, saying it caused him significant psychological damage.