A Thai man filmed himself killing his 11-month-old daughter in two video clips posted on Facebook before committing suicide, police say.
People could access the videos of the child's murder on her father's Facebook page for roughly 24 hours, until they were taken down on Tuesday evening.
"This is an appalling incident and our hearts go out to the family of the victim," a Singapore-based Facebook spokesman said in an email to Reuters.
RELATED READING
Warning for Facebook over new EU privacy rules
Last week, Facebook said it was reviewing how it monitored violent footage and other objectionable material after a posting of the fatal shooting of a man in Cleveland, Ohio was visible for two hours before being taken down.
The harrowing footage from Thailand showed Wuttisan Wongtalay killing his daughter Natalie, dressed in a bright pink dress, in the seaside town of Phuket.
Wuttisan's suicide was not broadcast but his lifeless body was found beside his daughter, said Jullaus Suvannin, the police officer in charge of the case.
"He was having paranoia about his wife leaving him and not loving him," Jullaus told Reuters.
Wuttisan's wife, Jiranuch Triratana, told Reuters she had lived with him for over a year. At first the relationship had gone well, she said, but then he grew violent.
Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy said it contacted Facebook on Tuesday afternoon about removing the videos, after receiving a police request.
"We contacted Facebook today and Facebook removed the videos," ministry spokesman Somsak Khaosuwan told Reuters, adding that the government would take no action against the company.
"We will not be able to press charges against Facebook, because Facebook is the service provider and they acted according to their protocol when we sent our request. They cooperated very well."
The killing was the first in Thailand known to be broadcast on the social networking site, said deputy police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen.
The first video had drawn 112,000 views by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, while the second video showed 258,000 views.
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.
