‘There is never a good day’

A boy has told Christchurch jury of not being able to eat or drink for two days after being punished by having a heated spoon or a “fire rod” – a poker – put into his mouth.

His allegations, which also included being made to chew chilli-peppers, were played to a jury as part of an evidential interview on DVD.

A 60-year-old woman has gone on trial before Judge Alistair Garland and a jury in the Christchurch District Court for assaults allegedly inflicted on two boys and an elderly man over several years.

The boy said he would always be getting hidings “because she would always blame me”. He said: “There is never a good day.”

He told of being hit, kicked or punched, or having his tongue burnt with a spoon heated on a stove element, or a poker.

He said there was a sizzling noise when his tongue was burnt. “I could not eat or drink anything for two days afterwards.”

The defence urged the jury members to keep an open mind because the woman had been “stitched-up” with a story made up by people she was trying to help.

The trial began again today before a new jury, after it was stopped after a few hours of hearing yesterday.

The woman, a caregiver who migrated to New Zealand in 1997, faces 29 charges in the trial before Judge Alistair Garland and a jury. An interim name suppression order continues.

She denies all the charges of assault and assault with a weapon involving two boys and an elderly man. The man cannot give evidence because he has now been diagnosed with dementia. She also denies a charge of poisoning one of the boys – making him eat the chilli-pepper.

Crown prosecutor Kathy Basire said the Crown would call evidence from about 20 witnesses, and the defence has indicated to the jury that it also plans to call evidence.

Miss Basire said that in evidential interviews recorded on DVD the boys would describe “unusual punishments” meted out to them, as well as being slapped, kicked, punched, and hit with sticks or household items.

“One was required to open his mouth while a spoon she had heated on an element on a stove was put in his mouth,” she said. “On another occasion he says she put a hot poker in his mouth. He was required to chew raw hot chilli-peppers as a punishment.”

The other younger boy was required to do “up and downs” as a punishment. “He was required to hold his ears with his hands and squat up and down and if he did not do it at the pace he was supposed to, he would be hit with a stick.”

A recorded interview with the elderly man will also be played to the court, because of his medical condition. The charges allege he was assaulted by kicking and punching, and by using a leather strap, stick, spatula, scrubbing brush and slipper as a weapon.

The Crown said there was independent evidence from other witnesses to corroborate what the three complainants said. Miss Basire told the jury: “Look out for similarities in their evidence.”

Defence counsel Kirsten Gray asked the jury not to pre-judge the woman because the defence case was that she had been “stitched-up” by a “web of lies” being told by people she was trying to help.

The woman denied that she had hit, stuck, branded, burnt, kicked or stomped the boys, though she admitted slapping one for discipline, for good reason.

“The accounts of extreme violence you have heard about simply never happened, says the defence,” said Miss Gray.

The boy said in the interview that he had told his school and a social worker what was going on, but nothing happened, so he stopped telling them. He said his mouth would be affected for five days after being made to eat chillis. He pointed out a photograph in a booklet given to the jury, showing the spoon he said he was burnt with.

He also said he had seen the woman slap and punch the elderly man, on one occasion breaking his spectacles. She would do this when he did something wrong. She sometimes struck him with sticks and spoons. “He would stand there and cry.”

Cross-examined, the boy said he had seen the elderly man act violently towards the woman a couple of times, by pushing her. He said the man would become upset when the woman told him he would need to go into a home because he was becoming difficult to look after.

The trial is continuing.

 

 

 

Category: Focus