JEDDAH, 14 July 2004 — The three-year-old boy whose father’s violent abuse left him quadriplegic and mentally handicapped remains unclaimed in hospital.
In May, Arab News reported that the child fell into a coma two months earlier after being severely beaten by his father but regained consciousness at King Abdul Aziz University Hospital. Although no longer in need of in-patient care, the boy remains in hospital because the only one who can check him out is his legal guardian — the abusive father.
“The boy occupies a bed, but there is nothing further the hospital can do besides follow-up treatment and physical therapy,” said Rasheed Al-Jihani, the director of administrative affairs at KAAUH.
There is little chance he will improve mentally, but with physical therapy he might be able to move. In the meantime, he seems to be responding better to his surrounding environment.
According to Al-Jihani, the boy was brought to the hospital by his 20-year-old sister on April 5. Almost a year ago he was taken to the Maternity and Children’s Hospital suffering from concussion after being dropped from the top floor of the house. The father checked him out, as he is frequently said to have done, against medical advice. The hospital filed a report with the Social Affairs Department and with the police requesting an investigation, but nothing was done.
When the boy was admitted to the University Hospital, he “was diagnosed with mental paralysis and as quadriplegic,” Al-Jihani said. The University Hospital filed another case with the police and is waiting for instructions.
Arab News has learned that an investigator from the public prosecutor’s office did investigate the case but could not confirm that the father is now in police custody. “We were told by the police not to hand him over to his father until the investigation is complete,” Al-Jihani said.
The father has divorced the mother, a non-Saudi who has returned to her home country. He has had three other wives, all non-Saudis who returned to their countries, and has five children by them, three daughters and two sons living with him. This boy is the youngest and for some reason has been bearing the brunt of the father’s abuse.
Arab News was told by a source that the father has caused the death of two other children of his before, but this could not be independently confirmed.
“No one has been asking about the boy’s condition except his sister, and no relative has come forward to take care of him,” Al-Jihani said.
The hospital two weeks ago gave the police an update on the boy’s condition and asked permission to hand him over to another member of the family, but so far there has been no reply. It also wrote to the Social Affairs Department asking if it can accommodate the child in one of its shelters.
First, however, a judge will determine which of these options is preferable.
Meanwhile, the Makkah Region Council on Monday established an association for the protection of abused children, women and the elderly. The council plans to reduce abuse and set up a mechanism for all involved authorities to deal with such cases.
It also wants to establish a database on abuse. The association’s executive unit will consist of a medical team, a legislative team and a preventive studies team.
