"It felt like blood was coming out of my legs," - Ammar

-- File Pic

STOCKHOLM: Azizul Raheem Awaluddin and Shalwati Nor Shal’s eldest son, Ammar, 12, continued to shock the court with his dramatic accounts of numerous alleged incidents of his parents beating him and his siblings on the third day of trial.

In the videos shown by the prosecutor, Anna Arnell, Ammar is interviewed by an investigating officer and he doesn’t need much prodding to set off into a trail of storytelling.

One incident he relates to the officer is about how his older sister, Aishah, 14, has a habit of stealing chocolates from their parents’ room almost on a monthly habit. Of course, this always ends up with her allegedly being beaten by their parents.

Another incident involves himself and his mother. His mother had asked him to wash the bathroom and he could not stop groaning and sighing because he didn’t like doing it. This irked his mother who then went on to beat him with a belt.

“It felt like blood was coming out of my legs. It also felt like hot water purring down my leg. The belt was made of leather. It was my father’s belt and it was brown,” he said.

Kristofer Stahre, Shalwati’s lawyer, said that Ammar’s statements have been very inconsistent with those by other witnesses. And this could be a big advantage for the defence.

Ammar had also related an incident when his mother had punished him by pinching his groin area very near to his genitals. He couldn’t recall what he did to deserve it, but he was sure that his mother would never do it again.

This took place a long time ago when he was 8 years old and the family was living in South Africa at that time.

Ammar also said that he had overheard a conversation between his parents one night when his mother had suggested to his father that she be the one to do the hitting when it came to disciplining their children.

He heard his mother tell his father in Bahasa Malaysia that he is a hard-hitter and when he hits them, they will cry out louder. If she does it, they won’t cry out too loud. He was walking past his parents’ room when he heard the conversation.

Even with all the dramatics and details, Ammar still showed signs of remorse. At the beginning of the interview with the investigating officer, he had asked her when his parents would be released.

"It's been a long time. Four weeks already and it's strange not to see them for so long. I wish my parents would be at my home and we will be fine together," he said.

Azizul and Shalwati have been detained since Dec 2013 for allegedly abusing their four children, who are now under the care of their aunt in Kelantan.

They were brought home from Sweden by Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin, last month. - ASTRO Amani