JEDDAH — Authorities have accused an African woman of murdering her newborn niece by bathing her in boiling water, Al-Watan daily reported on Monday.
The victim's mother said her daughter was only six days old when she died.
“My sister was bathing her and she put her in hot water as it was a tradition in our culture. My daughter suffered from second degree burns in her genital area and legs. We took her to the hospital but she did not survive,” said the mother.
She said the hospital reported the incident to the authorities as they treated it as a case of child abuse. “The Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution accused my sister of murder when she did not mean to kill my daughter,” said the mother.
Legal consultant Sultan Bin Rahim said the bureau could accuse someone of murder without evidence to prove such an intention.
“The investigator responsible for the case should run thorough checks to ensure that the incident was culpable homicide before the criminal court issues a sentence. The investigator should see if there was any record of abuse or violence in the family to indicate the aunt's intention,” said Bin Rahim.
He added the detective should find a motive to drive the woman to kill her niece.
“Premeditated murder must have a motive. In this kind of cases, the culprit usually is infertile or is unable to bear children herself and has let jealousy get the best of her. Whether the death was a murder or an accident will not bring the victim back, but the investigations will decide the sentence the accused will receive,” said Bin Rahim.
He also said if the woman was proven guilty of murder she would face a harsh penalty even if the victim's parents decided to drop the case.
“If the investigator was unable to prove the woman was guilty of premeditated murder, then she might face lighter penalties such as imprisonment, whether the victim's parents decided to drop the charges or not,” said Bin Rahim.
