| Related Links: | Articles on domestic violence |
| Letters Menu | Archival Menu |
The hearing into the alleged beatings by a Mocha father of his four children resumed before Magistrate Adrian Thompson yesterday.
Whitney Henry, nine, gave unsworn evidence and testified about the continuous beatings she received on January 31 at their East Bank home.
The prosecution's submission to the court for the child to be deemed a witness who knows right from wrong, was turned down yesterday following objections by defence counsel Frank James that the girl lacked the competence to give sworn evidence.
Magistrate Thompson ruled that the court, according to the law determines whether the evidence can be taken sworn or unsworn but the level of competence is solely on the matter of taking the oath. The girl, visibly confused during the proceedings broke down in tears when James sought to cross-examine her. The hearing was adjourned and will continue today.