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| Kowloon City Court |
A domestic helper accused of assaulting a four-year-old girl in her care, was acquitted yesterday at Kowloon City Court after the magistrate expressed doubts about the credibility of witnesses for both he prosecution and defense.
Deputy Magistrate Chow
Sen-yee said the testimony last April 24 by Luz Umbao, 34 years old, did not
tally with her statement to the police during the investigation that became the
basis for the court case against her.
But she also doubted the credibility
of the child, named X and the main prosecution witness, to convict Umbao for
“assault by those in charge of child or young person”, in violation of the Offenses
against the Person Ordinance.
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| TAWAG NA! |
The child testified through
video link that it was her nails that caused the four scratchers on her face. Her
mother, who testified in court, also said the girl told her the same thing at
dinner on the day the suspected assault happened.
Another injury that remained
unexplained fully by the prosecution were the bruises on the girl’s right arm.
With the prosecution unable
to prove Umbao’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt, Magistrate Chow acquitted her.
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| PINDUTIN DITO! |
The case arose after the
mother of X found four scratches on her face and bruises on her right arm as
they were having dinner on Sept. 19, 2023. The mother called police and Umbao
was arrested.
In her own testimony, Umbao
said she did not immediately notice the girl’s injuries that day as they were
rushing out of her employer’s house in Ma Tau Wai Road in Hung Hom, to fetch
the older sister from school.
Umbao told the court it was
the older sister who first noticed the scratches.
Earlier, Umbao said X had a
tantrum after being woken up so she and Umbao could fetch her elder sister,
crying and resisted efforts to dress her up.
Umbao’s lawyer raised the
possibility that the girl may have gotten the injuries accidentally.
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