To punish her stepdaughter, a woman (22) poured boiling water over the girl's legs. This cruel act was not an isolated incident.

Because a Senegalese woman wanted to punish her six year old stepdaughter, she poured boiling water on her legs. Two thirds of the thigh of the little girl were burned so badly that the underlying muscle was exposed, with the skin stripped off. It happened on Tuesday, 4th of May.

Five long days the girl had to suffer at home. Only on the following Sunday did her father bring the child to the hospital. The doctors did not believe the story of the 41 year-old and called the police. The man had claimed his daughter had knocked off a boiling pasta pot from the stove.  After a couple of days in the hospital, the girl confided in her doctor. She told that it was her mom who poured hot water over her legs.

The doctors diagnosed some older burns on her body, so this was not the first time the child was punished in this way.  She still has weeks to stay in the hospital to undergo complicated skin grafts over her legs. Last Friday, police detained the stepmother and father. Since then, they remain in custody but deny the allegations. The biological mother of the girl lives in Senegal.