Tabuk: The father of two handicapped children in Tabuk, who appeared in a video clip circulated around social media, said he would take legal action against those who published the video.
The video clip claimed that the man was kicked out of his home by his second wife, who was torturing one of the two children.
"I have not married a second wife,” he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. "My wife who is living with me is the mother of my children including the two handicapped children", he said, adding that he had applied for early retirement to take care of his children.
"I knew about the video clip when security officers came to my house in the night and informed me. They asked me to come to the police station in Sulaimaniya.
"It gave me the feeling that we are unsafe even in our homes. How do people dare to take video of our house without our knowledge."
He said that his wife and other family members were shocked when they saw the video clip, while his father nearly got a heart attack and had to be taken to hospital for treatment.
"I have been living with my family peacefully without interfering in the affairs of others," he said.
Medical reports have confirmed that the handicapped children were not subjected to mental or physical torture as claimed by the video clip.
"My handicapped children sometimes make loud sound because of their mental disorder," the father said.
Four years ago he had recruited a maid to look after the children but he found out that the maid was not taking care of them properly and informed the recruitment office that he did not want her service.
"My wife was looking after the children and she never complained about it."
The father denounced those who produced the video. "I tell them that Allah is enough for me as a supporter. I will sue them in this world and in the hereafter we’ll meet Allah as opponents."
Ahmed Juma, director general of the Ministry of Social Affairs’ office in Tabuk, said the video clip was fake. "It’s wrong to publish such videos about handicapped children," he said.
He aanounced the ministry’s plan to allocate a telephone number dedicated to receive calls about family violence.
"A team of experts visited the child having mental disorder and found that he has been receiving good care from his parents," Juma said.
"Our health team visits homes of such children to provide them with additional care and support", he explained.
Abdul Hakeem Al-Kharji, a legal consultant, said that the video comes under electronic crimes and those convicted of the crime would be jailed for five years and fined up to SR10 million.
"Those who have taken genuine video should contact authorities before circulating it to avoid punishment for defamation," he added.
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