Turkish authorities arrested a man for throwing sulphuric acid on his three-year-old nephew at a high-end Istanbul restaurant.
The man, only identified as C.A., told officers he attacked his nephew, identified as Y.K., “because he thought the boy received more attention from the family than his own son.”
“I was jealous that everyone in my wife’s family was more interested in him than my own son,” he stated. “He was more loved in the family. So I wanted to humiliate him in front of his friends.”
C.A. organized the family dinner at Develi. The children went to the restaurant’s playroom while the adults ate. However, C.A. left mid-meal for the playroom with a toothpaste tube filled with acid where he sprayed the substance onto the child’s face.
The man claimed he did not know the tube contained acid, but instead held “paint and he meant only to humiliate, not harm, the child.” But the police said C.K. “has given contradictory statements throughout the interrogation and the investigation is still ongoing.” Another news outlet reported C.K. “was the ex-boyfriend of the playroom’s babysitter, who it said was the real target of the acid.”
Y.K. is still in the hospital, where doctors are treating his injuries, but he still “risks losing sight in both eyes.” Two other children also received treatment when the acid hit them.
After C.A.’s confession, Y.K.’s parents told authorities his remote-controlled toy exploded three months ago. The police will also investigate if C.A. was responsible for that incident as well.
People expressed outrage on social media since many restaurants provide a playroom for children. Parents believe any child could be involved in a similar attack due to the lack of supervision of children in these rooms.
Others criticized the restaurant for their faulty video surveillance. The authorities, though, “are seeking to retrieve video footage from the playground that was likely deleted by a hacker before the incident.”