Riyadh police arrest man who repeatedly hit his infant in a viral video

A man filmed repeatedly hitting his infant daughter in Saudi Arabia has been arrested after the footage went viral on social media.

Police in Riyadh said he was identified as a Palestinian resident of the country, aged in his forties.

“He was arrested in Riyadh and his four children were provided with the necessary care in coordination with the concerned authorities,” the police statement added.

The video, which went viral on Saturday, showed a man repeatedly slapping his daughter for being unable to stand on her own.

In another video, he apologized and said his wife had left him and their children two weeks ago. He also claimed she shared the video online maliciously.

The footage has sparked outrage on social media and was shared on multiple platforms as part of a campaign to identify the man involved.

Lebanese actress Nadine Njeim was one of the people to express her anger online. In a tweet, she said, “I couldn’t watch the video till the end ! Plz I beg unicef and the government to help this baby and sue the father big time !!!!!”

One user said: ‘I just saw a video of a 'father' hitting his BABY daughter because she wasn’t standing and that broke my heart!! Some people are struggling to have a kid and other[s] don’t even deserve to have any! How heartless that man is and the person taking the video isn’t better!!!”

Another wrote: “I woke up to the viral vid of the father hitting his months old daughter and I want nothing but death for him.”