Saudi health practitioner sentenced to five years in prison

Dubai: A Saudi woman health practitioner has been sentenced to five years in prison and slapped with a fine of 100,000 riyals for assaulting 11 newborn babies, local media said on Monday.

The case was first referred by the Children’s Protection Services to the Public Prosecution after the woman practitioner, who works in a newborn nursery department, was spotted by surveillance cameras assaulting the infants.

“The surveillance cameras showed her violent behaviour with an infant as she was spotted assaulting the infant’s face three times,” the prosecution said in a statement.The court handed the woman the sentence after it was proved that she violated her responsibilities and tasks as a health practitioner by intentionally committing an offence against newborns.

Further investigations revealed that the woman repeated her violent actions with other infants, misusing trust and her job as a caregiver for the infants.