Police in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, have arrested a 39-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of assaulting his 3-year-old stepdaughter by slapping her in the face.

According to police, Takaki Iwase, slapped the girl with his bare hands at their home between Oct 25 and Oct 28 last year, which resulted in bruises on both cheeks which took two weeks to heal.

The girl is currently in a child welfare facility.

Police said Iwase — who was arrested on Thursday — has partially admitted to the charge and quoted him as saying that he did it as a form of discipline, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said they are also questioning the girl’s mother, who is in her 20s, about whether the child has been abused on a regular basis since Iwase started living with them in August last year.

© Japan Today