A SYRIAN man who bound the hands and legs of a 10-year-old boy and tied him to a bed with skipping rope just months after being housed in Scotland has escaped punishment for the offence.

Instead of being jailed or ordered to carry out unpaid work for the offence, Fahd Hussein Al Shrayteh will be taught how to behave properly by social workers.

He was spared jail after Sheriff Alistair Watson said he did not want to punish him for the offences.

Sheriff Watson allowed him to leave court as a free man after warning him his behaviour - which the court heard was normal treatment of children in Syria - was completely unacceptable in Scotland.

Al Shrayteh, 39, tied the boy up because he was home late from supermarket, using one skipping rope for his hands and another rope to bind his feet.

He later removed the ropes before tying the boy up by his hands for another five minutes.

The incident came to light when the boy, who has no visible injuries, told staff at his school about the assaults.

Al Shrayteh and his family moved to Scotland from Syria five months ago after his family were deemed to be ‘particularly vulnerable’ by the Home Office.

But just a few weeks after settling in North Ayrshire he carried out two assaults on the boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, and left him scared and alarmed by threatening him with more violence.

Al Shrayteh was due to face trial over three charges of terrorising the youngster.

But he struck a deal with prosecutors which saw him plead guilty to reduced charges.

He admitted assaulting the youngster at a house in Stevenston, North Ayrshire, in March this year by tying the youngsters feet together with skipping rope and then tying his hands to the bed.

He also pleaded guilty to a second charge of assaulting the youngster in the same property in the same week by slapping him in the face, in exchange for claims that he grabbed him by the head, pulled him about and forced his first in to the side of his head being deleted.

He lashed out at the youngster because he refused to go in the house and wanted to play with other children in the street where he lived.

And Al Shrayteh admitted a third charge of threatening to whip the boy with a cable.

As he ordered Al Shrayteh to be supervised by social workers for the next nine months, Sheriff Alistair Watson said: “I don’t doubt you’ve undergone enormous struggles in the recent past, struggles to protect your family and keep your family together - I recognise that and I’m aware of that.

“This conduct is completely unacceptable in Scotland.

“I’m giving you support to encourage you and help you to live the lifestyle that is acceptable in Scotland.”

He told Al Shrayteh he would be brought back to court and punished if he breached the order.”