A 45-YEAR-OLD man was yesterday in court in connection with his alleged assault of a nine-month-old baby boy.
The baby suffered a fracture to his left temple and a bruise above his right eyebrow on his forehead and had to be hospitalised for observation for five days.
The prosecution is trying to prove the infant’s injuries were sustained when the man was arguing with the boy’s 43-year-old Italian mother in November 2006.
According to the mother, who had owned a sex shop with the suspect, the incident occurred when the pair was trying to sort out some business differences they were experiencing. She said the man had become agitated during their discussion and grabbed the nine-month-old while he was sitting in his baby chair and shaken him. The child then hit its head on the corner of a table. During the row the suspect also somehow hit the child in the face with a mobile phone, resulting in the bruise on his forehead.
The prosecution yesterday called a Makarios hospital paediatric surgeon to testify.
The doctor said the infant had been referred to the children’s hospital by Nicosia general hospital’s Accident and Emergency department. The mother had taken her child there after the alleged attack. She also reported that her baby had vomited twice following the incident.
According to the surgeon the fracture sustained by the nine-month-old was “more serious” and must have been caused by a “more violent injury”. The bruise to the face could have been caused by a fall, any object or from being hit, he said.
A detailed medical history taken during the infant’s admission and a thorough medical examination did not suggest he had vomited due to pathological reasons, the doctor added.
“There was nothing wrong with the child’s systems, including his respiratory and circulatory systems,” he said.
The doctor also dismissed the defence’s efforts to imply the fracture might have been caused during the child’s birth with the use of forceps.
“He was nine months old. Any [injury] would have disappeared by then,” he said.
However the doctor did admit that the fracture might have been up to a month old.
“It could have been caused by an injury before. It could have been about a month or a little bit more,” he said.
During the proceedings the suspect, who was wearing a pair of jeans and checked blue shirt, sat slouched in a chair with his ankles crossed staring dully ahead. One arm was wrapped across his chest, while the other hung limply by his side. The man made no reaction and showed no emotion as the medical expert gave evidence for the prosecution and was cross-examined by the defence.
The trial will continue on June 11.
