Woman scars 12-year-old housemaid with hot water

A woman has been arraigned and is currently facing criminal charges for allegedly pouring hot water on her housemaid as punishment.

Mrs. Bethelyn Falade, who resides on Church Street, Powerline, in the Ijaiye-Ojokoro area of Lagos, is facing charges for assaulting and torturing her housemaid, 12-year-old Chinecherem Sunday with hot water.

Mrs Falade’s choice of punishment which inflicted wounds on the little girl was triggered by her missing laptop allegedly taken by Mrs. Falade’s brother-in-law, Lekan, without her knowledge and permission. According to her, the little girl’s crime was failing to notify her.

The police reported that, the 27-year-old woman grabbed the kettle of hot water and poured it on the girl in a burst of anger.

According to the Punch;

It was said that Falade’s neighbours on Church Street, Powerline, in the Ijaiye-Ojokoro area of Lagos, alerted a human rights group to the incident, having sighted the victim’s burnt chest. The group, it was learnt, reported the case to the police who eventually arrested Falade.

Falade appeared before a Magistrate’s Court sitting at Ojokoro in the Ifako-IJaiye area of the state on two counts of maltreatment and assault.

The prosecutor, Lugard Ahonle, said the charges, to which the accused pleaded not guilty, were contrary to and punishable under sections 135 and 171 Vol.44 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

The counts read, “That you, Bethelyn Falade, of Church Street, off Cole Street, Powerline, Ijaiye-Ojokoro, Lagos, in the Ikeja Magisterial District, did unlawfully and indecently maltreat one Chinecherem Sunday, 12 years, by pouring hot water on her body on August 31, 2014 at about 11pm.

“That you, of the above address, in the aforementioned magisterial district, did unlawfully assault one Chinecherem Sunday by constantly beating her up.”

After the defence counsel pleaded with the court that his client be granted bail in liberal terms, the magistrate, Mrs. T. Akani, admitted him to bail in the sum of N250,000 with two sureties in the like sum.

Akani added that “The sureties must be gainfully employed, present three years of tax payment and their residential addresses must be verified by the prosecutor.”

The matter was adjourned till November 17, 2014 for mention.