KUALA LUMPUR: Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali began disliking Bella, the girl with Down Syndrome, after the girl pulled a curtain and dislodged it from the rod, the Sessions Court was told today.
Yasmin Nahar Mahmood, 18, a resident of Rumah Bonda, said since then, the accused started getting angry at Bella and began abusing her.
"Bella once entered the second room, the room that housed me and the other siblings (occupants). Bella pulled the curtain until it was dislodged.
"After the incident, Bainun became angry and hit Bella. I do not remember the date of the incident," she said.
According to Yasmin, she had been instructed by Siti Bainun to strip Bella naked before she was told to tie the girl with a rope.
Hot water was later poured on her, she said.
"Siti Bainun told me to make sure Bella couldn't move before she poured the water. There were scarring marks on Bella's right thigh, ankle and knee due to the incident," she said.
She said this during cross-examination by Siti Bainun's lawyer Asiah Abd Jalil before Sessions judge Izralizam Sanusi.
Yasmin earlier said Bella was abused by Siti Bainun on a daily basis for almost four months between March 2021 and June 24 last year.
Siti Bainun, 30, is charged with two counts of neglecting and abusing the teenager to the point that the victim suffered injuries, physically and emotionally. She pleaded not guilty.
The offences were allegedly committed at a condominium in Wangsa Maju here, between February and June 2021, under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 which carries a jail sentence of up to 20 years or a fine of RM50,000 or both, upon condition.
Yasmin agreed with Asiah's suggestion that Bella suffered hot water being poured on her three times a day using a syringe and a cup.
"I took the hot water from the water filter. The water was steaming and had spilled," she said.
The trial continues.