A baby in Australia appears to have been subjected to appalling abuse by his teenage parents, in one instance being waterboarded by the couple, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Videos uploaded to Snapchat Saturday night depict the child crying and attempting to take a plastic bag off his head. In the background, people can be heard laughing as someone forces the bag back on his head.
“We’re not child abusers, we’re just teaching them discipline,” someone in the video says. “Making sure that they’re not dead, but then can’t breathe.”
In another video, someone pours water over the baby’s face as he appears to be in a bath. The caption of the video: “He is dying tonight for sure.” The caption of another video of the baby crying reads: “I can’t believe he is steal (sic) alive.”
The couple apparently has no qualms with their treatment of the child.
“That’s my child, that’s our child, yeah,” a girl in the video says, adding, “that’s my husband and that’s our child. And you’re not gonna teach us how to treat our child, okay.”
A boy then adds: “If I wanna slap my child, I’ll slap him as much as I want. And if you need some discipline, I’ll come to you too and slap you.”
The parents cover their faces in the video with smiling emojis.
Local authorities have said they visited a home and spoke with a teenage girl in regard to the videos. Police said they determined the child was “safe and well” after concerns about his well-being were raised.
Police told the Daily Mail that child welfare officials are looking into the matter.
No charges have been filed.
[Feature Photo: DailyMail Screenshot]