Mr Deng has been detained by the police. (Unsplash/Representative pic)
In a harrowing incident, a Chinese man filmed himself slapping his baby multiple times before sending the footage to his estranged girlfriend - the infant's mother. According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), the incident took place earlier this month in Guangdong province, China.
In the self-filmed clip, the man, identified as Deng, slapped his infant son on the face around 30 times in half a minute, the outlet reported. Even as the baby cried, he continued to slap him until his face turned red and swollen, the video showed.
The sickening video took the internet by storm and sparked a wave of anger among social media users in China.
"As a mother, I cried seeing this video. I feel heartache for the baby. This man should be severely punished. This is not supposed to be something done by a human being," one social media user said.
"The authorities should revoke his right to be a father, otherwise the baby will receive more abuse in the future," added another.
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The horrifying video even forced the municipal government of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province to issue a statement on the incident. According to the officials, Mr Deng was apparently upset at having to look after the couple's son alone after his girlfriend and the infant's mother, identified as Chen, left him. Therefore, he sent the video to her hoping she would be forced into returning, the authorities said.
The outlet reported that the baby suffered no long-term physical harm as a result of the abuse. He is now being taken care of by the local government.
Mr Deng, on the other hand, has been detained by the police and the case remains under investigation.