Saudi authorities opened an investigation into a video, which went viral on social media, showing a two-year boy being beaten up and tortured by his father, local media reported on Sunday.
The video has triggered a nationwide outrage amid calls for legal authorities and the Child Protection Unit to take legal action against the abusive father.
The boy’s Egyptian mother, who got divorced from her Saudi husband, has appealed to authorities to save her son from the violence and physical abuse he was subjected to by his father.
In an interview with local media, the mother said that the father has been beating and torturing her son for more than a year since she got divorced from him “It is an act of revenge, because I succeeded in getting divorced from him."
The Domestic Violence Centre received complaints about the incident. The Family Protection Unit has immediately taken the action and managed to reach to the toddler.
The father was referred to competent authorities to take legal action against him in line with the child protection law stipulating negligent and abusive parents should be held accountable for their acts.
The mother told media “My ex-husband used to send me images and videos showing my son being tortured and beaten up via "WhatsApp" in order to piss me off and to force me to return to him.”
The Family Protection Unit is urging community members to report any case of child abuse by calling the domestic violence Centre on 1919.
