Police on Sunday issued a wanted notice for a man filmed knocking a small child out of his way as he cycled on a path in the Ardennes.
In a video posted to Facebook, we see people walking on a narrow path in the snow, somewhere in the vicinity of the popular Baraque Michel. A woman is walking with a small child in a red coat, when a man on a bicycle rounds the bend and, his path blocked by the child, extends his knee to knock the child to the side allowing him to pass.
The blow sends the child tumbling across the path, and the man goes on his way.
The parents of the child filed a complaint with police, and the video caused an uproar on social media.
Judging from the video, the man was identified as being in his fifties, of normal build, with a moustache and also perhaps a beard, the lower part of his face hidden by a face mask. He was riding a dark-coloured trail bike with yellow detailing.
Police appealed to witnesses to come forward with information as the video gathered tens of thousands of views.
Then, on Sunday evening, the father of the five-year-old, Patrick Mpasa, said he had been contacted by someone claiming to be the assailant, but without identifying himself.
“He asked us to withdraw the complaint. We extracted a semblance of an apology from him, but no remorse. I'm not withdrawing my complaint,” he said.
Later on Sunday evening, reports emerged that the man had gone on to contact police after Mpasa had refused to withdraw his complaint.
No further details are available at this time.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
