A woman, identified as Mrs. Victory Joseph Udo, a native of Owerri West Local Government Area, Imo State, has allegedly pushed her house help, Chibuzo Precious, 13 year-old into a pot of hot water.
The incident which took place recently at No. 2 Okenu Epehu Street, Mile 50 Abakaliki, saw Mrs. Udo angrily descending on the 13 year old for mistakenly pouring crayfish on the flour and in the process allegedly pushed her into a pot of hot water.
It was gathered that after the incident, the girl was left with the hot water burns unattended to, until her class mates who saw how she was crying and writhing in pains at school sought to know what the problem was.
She narrated what happened to them and they in turn reported the incident to their teachers who asked her to remove her cloth and were shocked at the sight of the burns.
However, six days after the incident, another report came from her class mate that she was smelling badly and water was gushing out from the injury. The teachers as gathered quickly sent for Miss Precious who was crying uncontrollably.
Seeing that the injury has been infected and untreated, her teachers immediately brought the matter to the knowledge of the school proprietress who sent some teachers to go and find out from her madam why she did such a thing to her house help.
Following Mrs. Victory’s alleged unruly behaviour towards the teachers sent by the school management and her failure to take the child to the hospital, the school management quickly reported the case to the Family Law Center (FLC), Women Development Center Ezza road, Abakaliki and the woman was quickly issued a summon and later, the Center handed the matter over to Police Headquarters Abakaliki.
Narrating her ordeal, Miss Precious who is a native of Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, disclosed; “my madam had asked me to go and bring stew pot from the fridge in the early hours of Thursday, while I was trying to get the pot I mistakenly poured crayfish on the flour and that was when my aunty started beating me, as she was beating me she pushed me into a pot of hot water and it injured me.”
She further narrated, “When it happened I was crying but she did not do anything. It was when I came to school that my class mates saw me crying and reported to my teachers who asked me to remove my cloth.
“When they saw the injury they told me not to worry that if my aunty does not treat the injury, that they will treat it. On Tuesday the next week my class mates who where complaining that I was smelling because the injury was not treated and water was coming out from there, went and reported to my teachers who called me and later took me to go and meet my aunty”.
Confirming the incident, one of the teachers, Miss Vincent Favour Chigozie, narrated; “when we met the woman with the child in her shop at Mile 50 and inquired why she did what she did, she claimed that the girl is very stubborn and does not take instructions. So we told her that no matter how stubborn she is it was wrong to push her into hot water and refuse to take her to the hospital for treatment.
“She later called our proprietress and was threatening to deal with her and that there was nothing anybody can do to her.
“So we reported to the Family Law Center so as to help save the life of the young girl and make the woman to face justice”.
The woman in her reaction claimed she it was an accident, that it was not intentional.
Asked why she didn’t take the girl top hospital for treatment since last week the incident happened, she said she was preparing to do so.
The matter is however currently under investigation by the police as the girl has been taken to Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki for medical attention.
