Police in Yokohama have arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of assault after he pinned his one-year-old son’s upper body between his thighs on his bed at their home.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 9 a.m. on Sunday at the family’s home in Nishi Ward, Kyodo News reported.

Police said Ryo Kobayashi, a company employee, has denied the allegation. He was quoted as saying, "My son was preventing my wife from getting ready to go out, so I held him down for about five minutes. I wasn’t violent.”

When his son became unconscious, Kobayashi called 119. He said his child was crying, and that he had covered him with a blanket for about five minutes, and he became unconscious.

Police said the boy remains in a critical condition.