A DUTCHMAN HAS been arrested in Greece for allegedly stabbing at least 20 times a 12-year-old Russian boy who was vacationing on the island of Crete.

The boy was found early on Wednesday morning bleeding in the parking lot of the hotel in the town of Hersonissos where his family was staying.

According to the police, he had been missing since Tuesday evening when a show was held on the premises.

His mother told authorities that the 20-year-old accused had stolen her son’s iPad and mobile phone and he had gone to reclaim them when he disappeared.

The Dutchman, who was working at the hotel as a performer, has confessed to stealing the items and stabbing the boy.

He then pushed his victim into the bushes surrounding the parking lot.

Local coroner Antonis Papadomanolakis said that the boy was stabbed at least 20 times in the chest, back and other parts of his body.

Most of the wounds are not deep and vital organs appear undamaged, the coroner said.

But the victim was kept in an emergency unit overnight before being flown to Athens, where he is being treated at a children’s clinic, he said.

The self-confessed attacker was taken to a prosecutor today.

Crete is one of Greece’s main travel destinations, drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.

- © AFP 2013.

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