‘Baby’s face is red and swollen’: Chinese man self-films slapping attack on infant son, sends video to estranged mother in sick bid to get her back
- Man videos himself slapping baby son multiple times in harrowing video he then sends to infant’s mother
- Mainland social media outraged by sickening attack, describing it as inhuman and calling for man’s severe punishment
A wave of anger has spread on mainland social media over a man in China who filmed himself slapping his baby son dozens of times before sending the sickening footage to his estranged girlfriend – the baby’s mother.
According to a statement from the municipal government of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, southern China, the man, surnamed Deng, had quarrelled with his girlfriend, surnamed Chen, earlier this month, Jimu News reported.
In a harrowing self-filmed video taken on July 4, Deng can be seen slapping his infant son on the face around 30 times in half a minute.
As the baby boy cries, the cruel father continues to hit him until his face is red and swollen, the video shows.
Deng, who was apparently upset at having to look after the couple’s son alone after Chen left him, then sent the video to her, hoping she would be coerced into returning, the authorities said in the statement.
The baby, who suffered no long-term physical harm as a result of the abuse, is now being taken care of by the local government, the news report said.
Deng has been detained by the police and the case remains under investigation.
A local women and children’s federation, a semi-government organisation, told Jimu News they were also looking into the incident.
Fu Jian, a lawyer from the Henan Zejin Law Firm, told the newspaper that Deng’s actions constituted criminal abuse.
The shocking video has trended on mainland social media and has attracted numerous angry comments.
“As a mother, I cried seeing this video. I feel heartache for the baby. This man should be severely punished. This is not supposed to be something done by a human being,” one person said.
“The authorities should revoke his right to be a father, otherwise the baby will receive more abuse in the future,” said another online observer.
“The boy’s mother must take some blame too. She shouldn’t have left the baby with his father and ignoring how he was living,” said a third person.
Violent child abuse stories often trend on mainland social media.
At the beginning of this month, a woman in northwestern Gansu province was detained for abusing her seven-year-old stepdaughter by forcing her to eat raw peppers, putting her hand into boiled water, beating her and using a stick to hit her private parts.
In May, a court in Jiangxi province in eastern China jailed the parents of a 10-year-old boy, whom they had beaten and starved to death.
