ABHA: A 17-year-old Saudi girl, who was tortured by her father in Khamis Mushayt, was admitted to the intensive care unit of a local hospital after remaining in a coma for three days.
Following calls from hospital staff, Abha police and officials from the local Ministry of Social Affairs began investigating the case. The girl has since come out of the coma and her health condition is said to have stabilized.
A hospital source told Arab News that the police and the Ministry of Social Affairs failed to quickly respond to a hospital request on Monday asking them to investigate the issue, and that officials from the two bodies began investigations two days later. The girl had slipped into a coma on Saturday.
Arab News met the girl, who has become epileptic on account of the abuse, along with her mother at the hospital. The woman, who was separated from the girl’s father 10 years ago, came to the hospital after hearing that the girl had been admitted there. During the interview, the girl repeatedly said she does not love her father.
“It happened after I returned from school. I was standing in the kitchen when my dad came and began beating me up. He then tried to strangle me with his hands and a rope,” she said.
“He tied me to a window and left me there for 15 minutes; my stepmother came and untied me. Later he came back and beat me up again. I then fainted and woke up in hospital,” she added.
She said that this was not the first time she had been assaulted and that both her father and stepmother used to physically abuse her. She added that her stepmother broke her arm two months ago by throwing a large plate at her.
The hospital source told Arab News that, as a result of the abuse, the girl might remain epileptic for the rest of her life. The source added that a medical examination revealed that she had suffered an injury to the right side of her head.
The source said that the girl is in a terrible condition and that there is evidence suggesting the father is an alcoholic and drug addict.
