Osaka Prefectural Police headquarters (Mainichi/Tsuyoshi Fujita)

       OSAKA -- A 42-year-old man in this west Japan city was arrested on Jan. 10 for allegedly confining his then 2-month-old second son in a freezer last April.

       Osaka Prefectural Police arrested the corporate employee who lives in Osaka's Higashisumiyoshi Ward on suspicion of assault. The father has reportedly denied the allegations and was quoted as saying, "I didn't mean to hurt him. He's so adorable that I just wanted to tease him."

       There were photos and videos of the assault on the man's smartphone, and the prefectural police suspect he abused his son routinely.

       Fractured bones in the boy's left foot and ribs were confirmed when the infant was taken to a medical institution in August 2021. Concerned that abuse might be taking place, a doctor made a report to a child consultation center. Police intend to also investigate the case on suspicion of inflicting injuries.

       The father allegedly confined his second son in a minus 18 degrees Celsius freezer around April 15 or 16, 2021, in a guest room at a hotel in the southwest Japan city of Fukuoka, where they were visiting on a family trip.

       (Japanese original by Kumiko Yasumoto, Yusuke Kori and Kohei Shimizu, Osaka City News Department)

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