A man who claimed to be a recovered psychiatric patient has been sentenced to three years in prison for biting off part of his family’s domestic worker’s ear.
The High Criminal Court found him guilty of assault causing permanent injury, after the Filipina victim lost one-third of her left ear.
Medical experts assessed the injury as resulting in a seven per cent disability.
The court heard that the 35-year-old defendant was previously treated at the Psychiatric Hospital, although his family claimed that he has made a complete recovery.
His sisters accused the maid of ‘casting a spell on the house’ that they claimed caused their brother to behave erratically.
An image of the severed ear was attached to the court files, along with photographs of the victim covered in blood and the trail left at the scene.
The man admitted to the charges during Public Prosecution hearings, but claimed the incident was a mistake.
Meanwhile, the 47-year-old Filipina testified earlier that the defendant initiated an unprovoked altercation that escalated and ultimately led to her losing part of her ear.
“It was 9.15am and I was cleaning the living room when the defendant came and asked where his phone was,” she testified.
“I told him it was in his hand, which made him extremely angry. He looked at me as if he was about to attack me, which scared me, so I ran to the kitchen to call for help.
“He ran after me and snatched the phone from my hand. I asked for it back but he refused, so I took his phone and told him I would return it if he gave me mine.
“He pushed me and I fell. He then assaulted me, sat on my back and injured my ear. His sisters later pulled me away from him. When I looked at him, I saw some of my hair in his mouth – I believe he bit me.
“One of his sisters took me to the kitchen and tended to my wounds. When I returned to the living room, I saw a piece of my ear on the floor next to a knife.”
The defendant’s sister, who administered first aid to the victim, testified that the woman had worked in their East Riffa home for 23 years.
In statements to the Public Prosecution, she alleged that the victim had an unusual interest in black magic, sorcery and jinn, and claimed she had “cast a spell on the house to make everyone obey her”.
“The morning of the incident, I was woken up by the victim’s scream, and went downstairs to see what was going on,” the 24-year-old psychologist told the prosecution.
“I went into the living room and saw my brother holding the maid by the neck, demanding his phone. He had hair in his mouth. I returned both their phones, and my brother then took his belongings and left.
“The maid was holding her ear and said he had bitten it. When she removed her hand, I saw that a large part of it was missing. I later noticed a piece of skin on the floor.”
A medical report stated that the woman lost a significant portion of her left pinna – the external part of the ear – consistent with a bite inflicted with considerable force. She has been referred for plastic surgery.
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