'Parents' feud could be behind baby abuse complaint'

The baby's mother has a record with welfare services, and police suspected her of abusing the child.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
baby 88 (photo credit: )
baby 88
(photo credit: )
Galilee Police are looking into the possibility that a conflict between divorced parents led an Ashkelon man to file a complaint alleging that his ex-wife, of Safed, physically abused their baby son. On Wednesday, police launched an investigation after the father said he noticed bruises on his son. The baby's mother has a record with welfare services, and police suspected her of abusing the child. But later in the day, police refocused their investigation on a bitter feud between the parents. "The father has a criminal record. We are examining a conflict between these parents. Both the father's and the mother's version of events are being examined," a Galilee Police spokesman said. He added that the parents had a "custody arrangement" over the baby. In recent months, a series of child abuse cases have rocked the country. One of the most infamous cases involved a cult-like figure, Elior Chen, allegedly telling mothers to seriously wound their children with heavy tools in order to "spiritually purify" them. Chen, 28, was recently arrested by Brazilian police after fleeing the country, and is awaiting extradition back to Israel.