Saitama Prefectural Police have arrested a man for allegedly forcing his partner’s 4-year-old girl into a scalding hot bath that left her with burns earlier this year in what police believe could have been part of regular abuse, reports Jiji Press
On May 10, Keijiro Aman, 37, allegedly inflicted burns on the child's legs and back after forcing her into water that is believed to have been as hot as 70 degrees Celsius, or nearly 160 degrees Fahrenheit, at the apartment in Toda City he shares with his partner, aged in her 20s.
Aman, who has been accused of inflicting bodily injury, denies the charges, telling police he did not commit the act.
Police said the suspect lives with the woman, the girl, another 5-year-old daughter, and their boy who was just born, police said. The mother wasn't home at the time of the alleged incident to give birth to the boy.
The suspect took the child to a hospital to treat the burns, initially claiming, "[She] accidentally got into a hot bath by herself." Hospital authorities subsequently consulted with police.
Police believe the suspect could have been abusing the children on a daily basis after discovering bruises on the upper half of the eldest daughter's body.
Source: ANNnewsCH
