OGAWA, Saitama -- A demolition worker who viciously punched his 8-year-old stepdaughter in the face because she wouldn't eat her dinner has been arrested, police said.

Makoto Matsuzaki, 42, the demolition worker from Ogawa, was arrested for inflicting bodily injury.

Matsuzaki is suspected of routinely bashing the girl and he and his wife had been under the supervision of local childcare authorities since the summer of 2006 on suspicion that they regularly abused the child.

Police said that Matsuzaki punched the girl in the face on Sunday night because he wanted her to eat her dinner quicker than she was. The girl's elementary school had a parent's day on Monday and her teacher noticed a bruise on the child's face and alerted local authorities.

Matsuzaki lives with his wife, stepdaughter and another 1-year-old daughter.

(Mainichi Japan) April 23, 2008

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