Mother guilty of burning her son with hotwater

A woman lied about how her son suffered burns to 25 per cent of his body to try to hide the fact she caused them, a judge says.

That woman was found guilty by Judge Stephanie Edwards in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

She has interim name suppression to protect the identity of her victim – her preteen son – who was taken to hospital in May 2019 with serious burns.

He and his mother told police – they were questioned in different rooms by different officers – the burns were caused by the boy spilling hot pasta water on himself five days before he went to hospital.

But the boy, who was placed in Oranga Tamariki care, later told a caregiver and social worker his mother tied him to a bed, which had a plastic bag between him and the mattress, and poured a kettle of boiling water on him.

The mother was tried by the judgewithout a jury on Monday and Tuesday.

The judge said no plastic bags such as the one the boy described or stovetop kettles were found when police searched their home, but noted the search happened three months after the burns happened.

There was, however, an electric jug found at her home.

A big bone of contention during the trial was the boy’s interview with police, during which he made claims about his mother being violent.

He also failed to promise the interviewing police officer he would tell the truth.

The judge said the boy was plainly troubled and avoided topics.

But his motivation to lie – he was better fed with his foster family – did not stack up with the mother having full shelves when police searched her home and online shopping receipts showing she even bought treat food.

Furthermore, he was clear when he was being questioned about how he was burnt.

His account of having his bandages changed, saying they bled when his mother ripped them off him, matched with other evidence.

Receipts from the mother’s online shopping showed she was buying care products at least 10 days before the boy was taken to hospital.

Burns specialist Richard Wong She, who treated the boy, said he suspected the burns were between 10 and 12 days old.

That showed the mother lied about when the burns took place, something she did to hide what caused them, the judge said.

Wong She was sure it was more likely the boy suffered burns in the way he described than a pot of water spilling on him.

The evidence supporting the boy’s story left the judge in no doubt the mother poured boiling water on him.

There was no argument the boy’s burns fitted the definition of grievous bodily harm, or that pouring boiling water on him was causing grievous bodily harm with intent, the judge said.

The woman is on bail until her sentencing in June, when her interim suppression lapses.

At her sentencing she will be given a first-strike warning for violent offenders.