JEDDAH: A two-year-old boy was declared dead at Makkah’s King Abdul Aziz Hospital after being brought there with severe bruising and a hand fracture.
Abdul Majeed Al-Ghamdi was brought to the hospital by his mother on Tuesday at 11.30 p.m. The mother brought the toddler to Makkah from Taif in a taxi.
It was also learned that her child had died five hours before his arrival at the hospital. Staff at the hospital alerted police, suspecting a case of child abuse.
According to reports, the mother, who has not been identified, is divorced from the child’s father and had been living in Taif with her son and family.
Maj. Abdul Mohsen Al-Maiman, spokesman for Makkah police, said that preliminary reports indicate that the child had severe bruising and a broken hand. “The doctor said that it is a suspected felony and the case has been transferred to the Investigation and Prosecution Board and is not being handled by the police anymore,” he said.
According to news reports, the child’s older half brother said he never saw any bruising on his baby brother and that the child’s mother often refused to allow him to see him.
Results of an autopsy will come in the next two weeks to determine the exact cause of death.
Almost two years ago, a young girl called Ghosun died in Makkah after being abused by her father and stepmother.
They were both found guilty of beating, torturing and eventually murdering the girl in what judges described to be merciless, cold vengeance. Both the father and his wife were found complicit in the crime and executed.
