Sweden child abuse trial: Shalwati admits hitting son once after he threw a tantrum

STOCKHOLM: The Malaysian mother on trial in Sweden for abusing her children admitted in court that she had on one occasion hit her eldest son when he was hysterically throwing a tantrum.

Shalwati Nurshal explained on the day she hit Ammar, he had been in a foul mood after she took his sister Aishah's side in an argument between the two children.

She brought up the incident after prosecutor Anna Arnell asked her about a charge that Shalwati had hit Ammar for watching Youtube videos instead of doing his French homework.

"Ah, this is the event that lead us here," said Shalwati cryptically, adding "that event that put us in cells."

"Ammar had been fighting with his sister, so I told him to take a wuduk (ablution) as Muslims believe that can help people calm down," she told the Solna district court, on Wednesday.

However, when Ammar went to the bathroom he began having a tantrum, knocking things off the counter and throwing things about.

"He was hysterical so I hit him on the shoulder and told him to stop," said Shalwati.

Sweden has outlawed corporal punishment since 1979, meaning Shalwati and her husband Azizul Raheem Awalluddin face up to six years prison if found guilty of hitting their children.

Shalwati appeared calm when questioned by Arnell, which was translated from Swedish to English, and refered to the notes she had taken earlier in the trial.

The former teacher even asked the prosecutor to elaborate and better explain her questions, on several occasions.

When asked it the blow had hurt Ammar, Shalwati said the teenager seemed more shocked than hurt.

"After seeing videos of his friends explaining what they heard from Ammar, I think Ammar had been looking for a chance to finally tell his friends his mum hit him," said Shalwati, seeming disappointed.

Shalwati denied all of the other accusations over mistreatment of Ammar, explaining each incident in detail and painting Ammar as an exaggerator.

When asked if she had "pulled Ammar's ear until his hand shook" over math homework, Shalwati blurted out "more exaggerations!" before explaining that she was happy to teach him math, as Ammar rarely asked for help.

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 March 10.