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SCMP Reporter

A paediatrician yesterday used a doll in court to show a jury how a combination of shaken-baby syndrome and a blow to the head may have caused the death of a two-year-old girl.

Dr Patrick Cheung Chi-hung of United Christian Hospital was testifying in the manslaughter trial of Indonesian domestic helper Sumarti Sugandi, 26, who is accused of killing Chan Tsz-ying by shaking her in a fit of temper. She denies the charge.

When Tsz-ying was admitted to the hospital on November 28, 1999, she was found to have injuries including retinal and brain haemorrhages which, Dr Cheung said, developed 'almost immediately' after violent shaking.

The two-year-old underwent surgery to remove blood clots in the brain but her condition deteriorated and she died two days later.

Dr Cheung, one of the doctors who treated Tsz-ying, said 'every single possible means was tried, and failed' to reduce the swelling of the girl's brain.

Sugandi told police she scooped up the girl, who had been vomiting, and rushed for help, accidentally banging the child's head on the door on her way out.

But Dr Cheung, who had viewed a police reconstruction video showing her bumping a doll's head on the edge of the door, said the impact was 'inconsistent' with the pattern of injury.

He told the Court of First Instance Tsz-ying's condition could have been caused either by shaken-baby syndrome, the syndrome plus an impact blow, a car crash or a fall from a height of three metres or more.

However, the fact that Tsz-ying's family did not have a vehicle and the lack of history of her falling left the doctor only with the theory the girl must have been shaken.

Using the doll, Dr Cheung demonstrated the shaking action that, he said, could have caused Tsz-ying's injuries. The paediatrician said the abuser must have grabbed the victim by the shoulders or the trunk.

He told the court bruises on Tsz-ying's arms were consistent with her being grasped and violently shaken.

Although the reconstruction video also showed Sugandi shaking the doll in the process of rushing out to seek help, Dr Cheung said the shaking demonstrated could not have caused Tsz-ying's injuries.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Colin Jackson on Monday with testimony from pathologist Dr Wong Hon-man, who performed the autopsy.



Doctor shakes doll to show how toddler may have died