A babysitter has gone on trial at the High Court in Aberdeen accused of attacking an infant in her care and leaving it seriously and permanently injured.
Syeda Sokina Begum has been charged with “repeatedly shaking” the child while looking after it in Aberdeen on New Year’s Day 2017.
Prosecutors allege the 29-year-old did so to the girl’s “severe injury, permanent impairment and danger of her life”.
Yesterday Lord Uist and a jury of eight women and seven men began hearing evidence in the case.
They were told the youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been left with bleeding on the brain and bleeding from her eyes as a result of an assault.
The girl’s father said Begum – who his family referred to as “Soks” – had been babysitting for his family for several months so he could continue running a small business with his wife.
During questioning from Depute Lord Advocate Martin Richardson, the witness talked the court through the events of the day leading up to his daughter’s injury.
He explained he had taken his baby to work with him in the early afternoon before Begum arrived to take over her care at around 3.30pm.
The babysitter was due to return at around 9pm but the father said: “Soks didn’t bring her back.”
As time dragged on, the witness then overheard a phone conversation with a colleague, adding: “I did not understand. Something had happened to somebody at someone’s house, but I was not sure which house.”
Shortly after, the colleague and the man’s wife left the business for Begum’s house while he shut up shop for the evening.
His colleague then rushed back to the business to tell him his daughter had been taken to hospital by ambulance.
The distressed father made his way to accident and emergency and told the court: “I felt very nervous. I didn’t know what had happened.”
He said it took “quite a long time” for the medical staff to “save” his daughter, so serious were her injuries.
The witness added his daughter was now “fine” but continued to suffer impairment and was sometimes “unstable” on her feet when running.
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Evidence is expected to be given later this week, detailing exactly what may have happened to the youngster and led to her being rushed to hospital.
After the man was questioned by the Crown, defence agent Frances Connor suggested there were numerous inconsistencies between his testimony in court and the statement he gave to police two years prior.
Begum, of Headland Court in Aberdeen, denies the charge.
Her trial continues.
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