Five-year-old boy in critical condition after brutal beating

A 5-year-old boy was on Tuesday described as being in critical condition after allegedly suffering a brutal beating the previous day at the hands of a 40-year-old suspect, the ANA-MPA news agency reported.

According to the report, doctors at the Alexandroupoli General Hospital in northern Greece found evidence that the child had been beaten with fists and a stick, sustaining serious injuries to his head.

Police have arrested a 40-year-old man in connection with the assault and say that he already has a long record of thefts and drug abuse. They are reported as saying that he beat the child in front of its mother, though the reasons for the alleged attack were not clear.