Paris police arrest Malaysian mother who ‘tortured’ son for not dancing

Reports say the boy, 11, with burn marks on his body, told authorities his mother had allegedly scalded him for refusing to dance at a performance in France.

KUALA LUMPUR: French police have arrested a Malaysian woman over claims that she tortured her son, the New Straits Times reported.

The boy, 11, part of a professional dance troupe which was scheduled to perform in Paris, was allegedly scalded with boiling water after he refused to dance at a performance.

He has been hospitalised with third-degree burns.

The NST quoted Malaysian deputy chief of mission to France, Mohamad Razdan Jamil, as saying the French authorities had assured that the boy was in good hands in the care of the French Social Services.

He said the embassy had yet to meet the boy or the mother as investigations were still going on, and that it had informed the family back in Malaysia about the situation.

Razdan said the embassy was contacted six hours after the incident by the woman’s nephew.

The NST quoted French newspaper Le Parisien as saying the incident occurred on Tuesday night at the Adagio Paris hotel.

According to the report, the receptionist noticed the frightened-looking boy in the lobby area, dressed in pyjamas. When the boy’s mother showed up not long after and began shouting, he sought refuge under the front desk counter.

He reportedly showed the receptionist his injuries – multiple burn marks on his wrists, legs and buttocks – after telling her that his mother had poured boiling water on him.

The report said the receptionist called the police, who took the boy’s mother, 46, into custody. The woman is being investigated for “torture and act of barbarity of a minor under 15 years of age”.

If she is charged and convicted, she could face a prison term of up to 30 years, the report added. -FMT