The defacto partner of Sairusi Ceinaturaga, Mary Radiniwaqa, who gave evidence in the alleged murder trial of her 1-year-old son, told the court that Ceinaturaga assaulted her almost daily and regularly beat her children, including the victim.
Ceinaturaga is charged with one count of murder, one count of assault causing actual bodily harm and one count of an act intended to cause grievous harm.
Radiniwaqa says she had been living with Ceinaturaga for about three months before her younger son, the victim, moved in with them from Nakasi.
She testified that during their relationship, they often fought and that Ceinaturaga did not like her children being around her.
Radiniwaqa told the court that on the day of the incident, Ceinaturaga allegedly slapped her older son, bit his cheek, and later took the victim to another room, where she heard the sound of beating and the child crying.
When she went to check, the accused allegedly told her to f*** off.
She further alleged that she later saw Ceinaturaga hitting and biting his 1-year-old son.
The court heard that the accused then ran around the house with the victim on his shoulder in an attempt to revive him.
She says she took the child, noticed his head was tilted and his eyes were red, and later realised he was unresponsive.
The mother says they took him to the hospital at around 7pm, where the accused allegedly told medical staff that the boy had fallen.
Defence counsel, Olive Grace had put to the witness that Ceinaturaga had suggested she bring the victim to stay with them because he appeared malnourished, to which Radiniwaqa agreed.
Ceinaturaga claims that on the day of the incident, he had bathed the children, including the victim, and put them to bed before going to his plantation.
He says that when he returned from the plantation, he heard the victim crying, so he went to get a spoon to show him, explaining that this was how their mother usually calmed the children.
He also claimed that Radiniwaqa did not want to take the victim to the hospital, and that he had to insist on going.
Radiniwaqa rejected these claims.
The trial will continue tomorrow.
It is alleged that Ceinaturaga hit the child with an aluminium cooking spoon, then struck the child’s head against a wall before throwing him onto a mattress.
