It has been 16 days since Mrs. Mabel Enwongomfon–Umoh is being confined to an hospital bed following the injuries she sustained when her neighbour, identified as Williams Esther, bathed her with a bucket of hot water during a minor argument.
The incident, which happened on Christmas eve, did not only leave Mabel in excruciating pain as she sustained severe burns on her chest, breasts, neck and a part of her face, it also deprived her two months old baby from being breastfed because of her breast injuries.
The incident started like a minor disagreement on December 24. But soon after, it snowballed into a heated argument such that Mabel’s neighbour, Esther Williams, entered her room and came out with a bucket of hot water and emptied the content on her, leaving her with severe injuries.
Following Esther’s arrest by the Isheri division of the Lagos State Police Command and her subsequent arraignment at an Ikeja Magistrate’s court, the mother of one said the devil was to blame for the incident.
Esther, a househelp before her action landed her in police custody, spoke with Saturday PUNCH before her arraignment, saying even though she knew the hot water could inflict severe injury on her neighbour, she did it out of anger. “I’m sorry. I was pushed by the devil to do it. I wish I didn’t do it. After I did it, people were beating me before I was arrested. I feel bad. I’m sorry. Everybody in the house makes trouble, not only me,” she said.
While Esther had since been remanded in police custody until she satisfies the bail conditions imposed by the court; a bail of N500,000 and two sureties in like sum among other conditions, and the matter adjourned till March 9, 2016, Mabel, who has been bedridden since the incident happened, says she has missed breastfeeding her baby.
“Sometimes, I would see milk coming out of my breasts, which was a sign that my baby was crying but there was nothing I could do,” she told Saturday PUNCH.
She said her baby had been feeding on formula.
She recalled that her first child could not stand what had become of her face and body the first time she and the two-month-old baby visited her in the hospital.
“She ran away and refused to come inside until they went back home, but she has now got used to it,” she said.
When our correspondent visited Mabel during the week, even though she had been discharged, she was still unable to go home owing to unpaid medical bill. Thus, she remained the hospital’s guest.
No comments:
Post a Comment