A couple accused of murdering their seven-week-old son tried to shift the blame to their other child when questioned by Hong Kong police over the infant's fatal injuries. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Imran Hossain and his wife, Farzana Akter, appeared at the High Court on Tuesday over the death of their newborn child. The boy died in the hospital six days after he lost consciousness in the family home in 2019. The couple, both Hong Kong residents, pleaded not guilty to a joint count of murder and another of child cruelty.
According to SCMP, the case came to light after the doctors reported the couple to the cops. The baby boy was admitted to the hospital after he stopped drinking milk and exhibited abnormal eye movement. Upon examination, the doctors noticed bruises on the child's cheeks and forehead, with scratches over a nostril and spots of bleeding on his nasal bridge. They also found multiple thigh and rib fractures. They said that the child's right first rib was broken to a level of severity that was typically seen in a car crash or a fall from a great height.
The autopsy report later showed that eight bones of the infant's rib cage were broken and there was bleeding under the skull, as well as swelling and damage to the brain.
On Tuesday, prosecutors cited evidence and told the court that the infant could not have been assaulted by his brother, who was nearly two years old at the time, given the strength needed to inflict the injuries. Prosecutor Human Lam Hiu-man said that the injuries suggested the boy had been squeezed or compressed with full force.
"These are very serious and fatal injuries that require great force to inflict. They cannot be accidental," she said.
According to Lam, the parents failed to call emergency services when they sensed that something was wrong with the baby.
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The couple, on the other hand, said that they "guessed" the fatal injuries were caused by the elder son, who they said jumped from a suitcase onto the baby. They also said that the toddler had been lying down on the baby, causing him to cry. "Both of them attempted to picture (the elder son) as a jealous, naughty boy who would repeatedly hurt his little brother," Lam told the court.
She also stated that the pair acted "in concert" by repeating identical accounts of what happened to their son. She accused the parents of negligence in allowing their newborn to sleep on a mattress on the floor that was shared by the whole family.
Lam told the court that the infant's injuries would be "compelling evidence" to prove the defendants' intention and reconstruct what had occurred inside the flat.
The trial is ongoing and is being heard by Madam Justice Amanda Woodcock.
