Maid left in sole charge when baby shaken to death, jury told

An Indonesian maid accused of shaking a five-month-old child to death was the only one caring for him when the injuries were inflicted, a jury heard yesterday.

Prosecutor Paul Dinan told the Court of First Instance that expert medical evidence revealed Yip Ho-yin had died after being 'shaken' between five and 24 hours before his death on October 3 last year.

Mr Dinan said Sumiyati, 29 - who denied manslaughter - was looking after the child and his two-year-old brother in their North Point flat during that time.

He said there was no medical consensus as to the amount of violence needed to cause shaken-baby syndrome, but the jury would hear from British expert Dr Waney Squier, who examined samples from Ho-yin's brain. Dr Squier had determined the baby's death was consistent with 'shaken injuries' inflicted between five and 24 hours earlier.

The court heard from Ho-yin's mother, Liu Wai-ying, a nurse specialising in infant intensive care, that she had taken her baby out the day before his death.

Ms Liu said that when she returned home at 1.15pm and put Ho-yin to bed, he did not seem ill or unhappy. She left for work at Tuen Mun Hospital, staying in rented quarters overnight.

Sumiyati's defence counsel, Peter Cahill, asked Ms Liu why she had told the maid never to leave her two sons alone together. She had told police that her elder son had thrown toys into Ho-yin's cot and she was afraid they might injure him, the court heard.