Parents of baby who died of head wounds will face trial

The couple is in jail after their seven-week-old daughter succumbs to internal bleeding.

The parents of a seven-week-old girl who died after being struck four times on the head will soon face trial, a public prosecutor said. A Filipina, identified as VA, 30, and her Indian husband, RS, 30, have been in Sharjah Central Prison since Sep 1, after their baby died from internal bleeding on the previous day. The case was referred last week to the public prosecution for further investigation.

Anwar al Hamoudi, the Sharjah Public Prosecutor, said both parents were to appear in court, the man charged with murder and his wife with complicity. The couple are being held at Sharjah Central Prison. A relative of the woman has appealed to the Philippine consulate for legal assistance. Edwin Mendoza, the vice consul, said the consulate wished to learn more about the circumstances of the case from the police before deciding whether to recommend the provision of legal representation for the Filipina.

"She called us on Sunday to tell us that a Filipina and her supposed husband have been in jail since Sep 1," he said. "We will arrange a jail visit as soon as possible." On Aug 31, VA and RS took their baby daughter, identified as RRS, to a private hospital in Sharjah for treatment. The doctor who examined the baby said she was not breathing and was lying motionless, according to police. The doctor also found bruises on the baby's body and reported the incident to Al Haira police station.

Police sent the child's body to the forensic laboratory for a post-mortem examination. Results showed that the internal bleeding was caused by four heavy blows to the head. The bruises were found to have been inflicted prior to Aug 31. Last week, the police said the Indian engineer had confessed to beating his daughter on several occasions when she had cried and that on the last occasion, when she continued to cry, he struck her four times on the head.

VA's 26-year-old sister said in a telephone interview that VA accompanied their mother on Aug 31 to Dubai International Airport, from where she was scheduled to travel to Kish Island for a visa change. VA was in Dubai from 10am to 7pm, and returned home to Sharjah at about 7.20pm. "When she arrived home, my sister discovered that her baby, RRS, was not breathing. She and her husband took the baby to the hospital. When the baby was declared dead, she phoned me crying. She said the baby's gone."

She said VA was not capable of hurting her daughter, who was born in Zulekha Hospital on Jul 18. "My sister loved her baby so much," she said. "Why would she take the baby to the hospital if she did something wrong?" @email:[e-mail] @email:[e-mail]