Sweden child abuse trial: Eldest son believes jail time for parents likely

STOCKHOLM: "I just feel they'll be found guilty and put in a real jail," said the eldest son of the Malaysian couple in Sweden, who are on trial for allegedly hitting their children.

When asked what Ammar, 12, thought about the future, he said his parents were likely to be jailed before he would be able to see them.

But when the Swedish policewoman asked what he thought of his own future, Ammar said all he could think of was hugging his parents again.

"They're going to go to jail, I don't know for days or months. When they're released, I can see them again," Ammar said during his fifth pre-recorded interview, shown in a Solna district court here.

Azizul Raheem Awalluddin, a Tourism Malaysia director in Stockholm, and his wife Shalwati Nurshal were detained Dec 18 last year after Ammar told staff at his school that he had been hit, leading them to report the matter to the authorities.

Now facing their fourth day of trial, Azizul was seen wearing a new black jacket and blue tie, while Shalwati still wore the same grey jacket over her baju kurung.

While Shalwati was seen taking constantly taking notes last week, the mother of four seemed more focussed on watching the videos on Monday.

In the video interview, Ammar admitted that he was rarely hit by his mother with a rotan, "maybe two times a month".

He added that his father sometimes wielded the rotan during Quran classes, but never actually used it.

Asked which event Ammar most strongly remembered about being beaten by his father, the 12-year-old recalled an occasion where he stole his mother's credit card to buy a video game.

"I asked my mum to buy it several times, but she wouldn't. So I decided to take her card and buy it myself," said Ammar, adding at the transaction failed so he returned the card.

However, Shalwati found out, leading Azizul to beat his son as in punishment.

Ammar said the reason that memory stuck with him as it made him feel that money was more important than him in his father's eyes.

"It's also the fact that it was over a game, and it was the angriest I have ever seen my father," said Ammar.

This was not the first time Ammar mentioned his siblings had been beaten for stealing.

He had previously said that his sister Aishah had also been beaten on several occasions for stealing money and chocolate.

On Feb 10, Shalwati and Azizul were charged with multiple counts of gross violation of a child's integrity, by hitting and abusing their children.

The alleged offences took place in the family's home in Spånga, a Stockholm suburb, between September 15, 2010 and December 17, 2013.

The trial continues on Feb 25.