Dhiyabi Okaz/Saudi Gazette TAIF – A mother stabbed her seven-year-old daughter to death here Tuesday with a screwdriver, for refusing to do her daily exercises to help heal a fractured arm. Shomoukh, the little girl, was rushed to the hospital but died on the way. The hospital reported the crime to the police and the mother was arrested. The mother, who is over 20 years of age, has a history of abusing her daughter. She broke the child's arm two months ago during a beating. This time she used a screwdriver to stab her daughter to death, with complete disregard for the child's cries for her to stop. After stabbing the child, she went to the home of her relatives to ask them for help to save the child's life. Security sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the mother admitted to the crime during questioning. She told the police she had stabbed the child in several parts of her body with a screwdriver because she did not want to do strengthening exercises for her broken arm. Doctors who examined Shomoukh's body found several other injuries on her body, including behind her head, from previous beatings. The father and husband confirmed to the police that his wife had broken the arm of their daughter and had promised him she would not beat the child again. The husband had also complained to the relatives of his wife about her behavior. He was not at home when the crime took place. The mother was taken to the Female Correctional Facility in Makkah crying hysterically. During questioning, she had quietly spoken about the crime. Dr. Suhail Khan, a consultant psychologist and director of the Mental Health Hospital in Jeddah, said most mothers who kill their daughters in such a “heinous” manner suffer from some form of mental illness, which includes “hallucinations and delusions”. He said such patients usually do not believe that they have done anything wrong. They cannot differentiate between reality and their delusions, Khan explained. This crime brings back painful memories of the four-year-old boy, Ahmad, who was killed by his stepmother in Taif last year. __
