A 20-year-old father was arrested for allegedly injuring his daughter’s tongue with a sharp object last December at their home in Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture, causing her injuries that took around three weeks to heal. The girl was only 3 months old.
The arrested man, who is now a 20-year-old company employee, was 19 at the time of the incident.
According to the police, the man had denied the charges during questioning. More specifically, he reportedly stated to have injured the surface of her tongue but without making any cuts to it or using any type of sharp object.
At the time, the household consisted of a total of five members including the father, his common-law wife, the 3-month-old daughter, and their two other children.
In February of this year, the daughter was brought into the hospital to get the swelling in her arm checked. It was during this time that the hospital noticed something unusual and reported the matter to the police.
The father was also arrested in October on a separate charge of assault for allegedly hitting his daughter’s cheek.
Multiple fractures were found on the young girl’s body. The police are further investigating the issue, believing that she may have been regularly abused.
Source: NHK