A 21-year-old woman from Labasa has been sentenced to eight months for act intended to cause grievous harm.

The Labasa High Court heard in September last year the woman unlawfully burnt her 7-year-old daughter with a hot spoon.

The Court heard the victim who was in Year 2 at the time of the incident lived with the accused, her stepfather, brother and uncle.

The complainant woke up at around 3am as she normally does to prepare for the day on the day of the incident.

She was washing the dishes and her mother was making roti and kept telling the victim to finish her chores fast.

She got angry at the child and lifted her dress and placed a hot cooking spoon on her back.

The spoon was heated on an open flame from the wood stove she was cooking roti on.

The girl tried to run but the accused pulled her dress and stopped her from leaving.

Later at 5am the girl got dressed to go to school but the accused left to go to the sugar cane farm without making her hair.

She did not go to school that day.

The next day the teacher noticed the burns on her and informed the Social Welfare.

The Social Welfare Officer reported the matter to police and the girl was medically examined and the doctor confirmed she had received burn injuries.

The girl now lives at a children’s home in Savusavu.

The High Court Judge says she speaks English, Hindi and Fijian fluently and is thriving under the care of the wardens and her school reports are laudatory.

However, she refused to have family members visit her and whenever teachers or wardens talk about family she becomes morose and talkative.

The Judge did not consider the defense counsel’s submission to suspend the sentence saying the remorse is too late.