Maid attempts to behead three-year-old boy in Saudi Arabia

Relatives say boy's mother rushed into the room in time to save him

MANAMA: An Ethiopian domestic help was arrested in Saudi Arabia after attempting to behead a three-year-old boy.

The help who started working with the family only five days prior to the incident reportedly attempted to kill the child as he was sleeping using a knife and tried to sever his head.

“She was not properly qualified to do the house chores and she was constantly mumbling words,” Gulf News reported citing sources as telling Saudi news site Sabq.

“The helper wanted to cut his head off, but as he started to scream she stabbed him on the face and the back,” the source added.

However, the mother alerted by the child’s cries rushed into the room and tried to wrestle the knife off the helper’s hand. "After a scuffle, the mother was able to overpower the helper and remove the knife. She then took her child and walked outside to the street where she asked for help. A driver took them to hospital where the child was rescued by the medical staff,” the source said.

It is a miracle that the child is still alive, a relative said.

The relative further claimed, “The helper was determined to kill him, and stabbed him several times, starting with the throat and mouth, then his ear and his left shoulder. She also stabbed him four times in the back.”

This article originally appeared in Gulf News.