A father has been accused of beating his 11-year-old daughter with a cane because he suspected she was hiding a mobile phone card from him. The beating allegedly took place when Rawan was sent by her mother, to visit her father last weekend. The parents are divorced. The Commission for Investigation and Prosecution in Makkah is investigating the matter after the girl's mother filed a complaint when she discovered bruises on her daughter's face and body. Rawan was accustomed to visiting her father every weekend after he had separated from her mother seven months ago. However, last weekend Rawan did not return home. Her mother could also not contact her on her phone. So the mother called her former husband to find out what happened, but he refused to let her speak to Rawan. She said she had told her former husband to return Rawan, or she would call the police. She said he had eventually relented and returned the girl on Sunday morning. Rawan was in a pathetic state, said her mother. When questioned about her bruises, Rawan described what happened. She said she was asleep when she was suddenly woken up by the shouts of her father. He then allegedly started beating her with a cane he was carrying, accusing her of hiding a mobile telephone card from him. The mother said: “When I confronted my former husband about it, he denied he had committed the act and said the bruises on her body was caused by her falling from the house's wall. This forced me to file a complaint at the police station. She was then transferred to the hospital, where reports confirmed that Rawan was physically assaulted.” Maj. Abdul Mohsin Al-Maiman, spokesman for the Makkah Police said Al-Qararah Police Station had received the complaint and has referred it to the Commission for Investigation and Prosecution.
