A mother has been accused of scorching her six-year-old son's hands on a stove and pouring salt on the burns as punishment for touching an iPad.

Karina Torrescano Hernandez, 27, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault of a child after the boy's wounds were spotted by a school counsellor.

Doctors found four separate burn marks which 'indicated multiple contacts, not one' and scars on his head, neck, shoulder and buttocks, according to a statement from the hospital.