A local woman was arrested on Wednesday for attacking and scalding her 80-year-old mother with hot water, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Ho Chan Nam said at a press briefing on Friday.
The 51-year-old local suspect is surnamed Lei.
According to Ho, the public Conde de S. Januário Hospital Centre notified the Judiciary Police about a suspected domestic violence case on Wednesday. The victim is an 80-year-old woman who is bedridden and has been unable to look after herself for a long time due to illness. Her daughter (Lei) has been taking care of her mother for years, which put much pressure on her. She often pinched her mother’s thighs and even beat her. Lei even poured hot water onto the victim’s legs and hands recently, Ho said.
Ho said that an outreach centre nursing staff paid a regular visit on Wednesday to the victim’s home in San Kio district for a routine check-up. The staff discovered that the victim had sustained multiple bruises and scalds as well as other suspicious wounds and notified the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) about the case so that the victim could be transferred to the public hospital for treatment. A medical examination found that the victim sustained multiple bruises and scalds on her abdomen and legs. The hospital then notified the Judiciary Police to follow up.
PJ officers went to the hospital and arrested Lei who was there. She admitted to deliberately beating and pinching her mother’s thighs, but denied using a kettle filled with hot water to scald the victim, claiming that she had “just accidentally” done it. Ho said that the victim was still in hospital for treatment at the time of the press conference.
Lei has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a domestic violence charge, according to Ho.
