Father under investigation after alleged throwing of children in Zarqa stream

AMMAN — Police on Sunday were questioning a father who allegedly threw and killed his two children in the Zarqa stream earlier in the day.

The Zarqa Family Protection Department received a complaint that a "father has left his home and took his children to an unknown destination and that the caller feared that he had harmed his two children," Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

When the father was contacted, Sartawi told The Jordan Times, "he alleged that he threw his two children in Zarqa stream"

Civil Defence Department (CDD) divers were dispatched to the Zarqa stream to search for the children, the police official said.

Few hours after the father claimed he threw his children in the stream "CDD divers found the bodies of the two children," according to Sartawi.

In his initial confessikns to authorities, the police official maintained the suspect claimed that he "threw his children over family feuds".

"We are currently questioning the father to learn more about the incident," Sartawi added.

The suspect was ordered detained at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigations, according to a statement by the Public Security Directorate.