Horrific details of a toddler’s nightmare life full of neglect, torture and trauma was outlined to a court which heard how he took his last gasps of breath laying battered and bruised in a hospital bed.
Graphic photographs of the tragic two-year-old’s injuries were attached to court documents as evidence, which showed bite marks all over his body.
Two women appeared for the first time at the High Criminal Court yesterday where they pleaded not guilty to charges relating to his ill treatment and death.
The court heard how his mother had secretly given birth to him out of wedlock in her apartment in Manama in 2020. The 33-year-old Thai masseuse had earlier been involved in an illegitimate relationship with a Bangladeshi man.
The child is said to have suffered from severe jaundice but proper medical treatment was not sought because he lacked official registration and hospital birth records.
The mother gave him to a 36-year-old female friend and fellow national to raise him in return for a BD40 weekly allowance, according to court documents.
The mother received a phone call on August 14 from her co-defendant, the court heard, who informed her that her child had fallen ill.
She took her son to Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) and he was found to be suffering from a fractured skull, internal bleeding, as well as several bruise and bite marks. Despite the best efforts of medics he was pronounced dead just hours later.
Negligence
The mother is accused of negligence leading to his death. The other woman has been charged with torturing the child and beating him to death.
The 36-year-old woman denied attacking the boy and said that she was simply being ‘playful’ when she bit him on several occasions.
She also claimed that his severe head injuries were caused by him falling in the bathroom and said that she ‘loved him a lot’.
“I took care of him for two years,” the woman, who also worked as a masseuse, told prosecutors. “I was giving him a bath and he fell and banged his head on the wall. His mother paid me BD40 weekly to take care of him, but I spent more money on him. I would never hurt him and his mother hardly visited him.”
However, a medical examiner’s report concluded that the injuries which led to the victim’s death could not have been caused by an accidental fall.
The report stated that the child died as a result of being mistreated leading to him to suffer from internal bleeding and a crushed skull.
“It is clear that the two-year-old boy was tortured,” read the medical report. “He had bite marks on his face, back and legs. These bite marks matched with the teeth and braces of the 36-year-old defendant.
“The child died as a result of internal bleeding and a fractured skull. He was tortured to death and a blue non-medical liquid was placed in his mouth, which further caused his health problems. This all shows negligence and abuse of the child.”
The trial has been adjourned until Sunday for review.
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