Ibrahim Alawi and Fahd Al-Mitairi Okaz/ Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — A two-year-old Saudi boy has been assaulted by his family's housemaid, according to Jeddah Police on Thursday. Jeddah Police spokesman First Lt. Nawwaf Al-Bouq said an African housemaid was caught on camera beating the baby, identified as Mishaal, and screaming in his ears. Mishaal's father filed a complaint against the housemaid, who admitted to her crime during interrogations with the Prosecution and Investigations Commission (PIC). He said his wife had become suspicious of the housemaid when she noticed Mishaal had lost his appetite and looked tired. He said: “I also noticed that my son developed what looked like asthma in his chest but thought this was normal with children his age.” The father said his wife planted a camera in the maid's room to monitor her behavior with the child during their absence. He said when they came back home from an appointment with the doctor two days before the incident, they found the baby and the maid asleep. “My wife played the videotape and got the shock of her life. “She saw the maid beating the child who was looking innocently at her. “The beating continued for 10 minutes and was coupled with yelling and cries in his ear.” The father said when he asked the maid if she had tortured his son she denied it, but later confessed to her crime at the PIC. “I went to the police station with the tape and filed a complaint against the maid. “The police arrested her and later handed her over to the PIC where she admitted her crime.” The father said he and his wife recruited the maid to look after their child because they were both working and were away from home most of the day. “We treated her very kindly, paid her monthly salary on time and never expected anything like that from her.” Al-Bouq warned families to be vigilant and watchful when leaving their children in the care of their housemaids.
