Abstract
This report discusses the case of presumed unusual abuse of an 11-year-old boy with a central African background. The boy presented with deep cuts on the back of both hands which contained traces of chili powder. This unusual injury, which was ostensibly meted out by his mother, was discovered by family friends and finally reported by the children’s hospital emergency unit doctors to the child protection services. During the legal proceedings, the mother denied any responsibility for the crime even though she had initially admitted her actions. The court convicted her of the abuse of a ward in concomitance with aggravated battery. She was sentenced to a term of 1 year and 1 month on probation.
Zusammenfassung
In dieser Kasuistik wird die mutmaßliche Misshandlung eines 11-jährigen Jungen mit zentralafrikanischem Hintergrund erörtet. Der Junge fiel in der Klinik mit tiefen Schnittwunden an beiden Handrücken auf, die Spuren von Chilipfeffer enthielten. Augenscheinlich wurden die Schnittwunden von der Mutter des Jungen verursacht. Sie wurden von einem Freund der Familie entdeckt und letztlich durch die Klinikärzte an das Jugendamt gemeldet. Im Rahmen des Gerichtsverfahrens nahm die Mutter ihre ursprüngliche Aussage, dass sie für die Verletzungen verantwortlich sei, zurück. Nichtsdestotrotz wurde sie wegen Misshandlung Schutzbefohlener und gefährlicher Körperverletzung zu einem Jahr und einem Monat auf Bewährung verurteilt.
References
Health & Wisdom (2015) Cayenne. http://www.health-and-wisdom.com/store/pg/124-Cayenne-Pepper.aspx. Accessed 18 Sept 2015
YOGA Magazine of the Bihar School of Yoga (1963) Some like it hot. http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1978/dapr78/hot478.shtml. Accessed 18 Sept 2015
Cichewicz RH, Thorpe PA (1996) The antimicrobial properties of Chili peppers (Capsicum species) and their uses in Mayan medicine. J Ethnopharmacol 52:61–70
Omolo MA, Wong Z, Mergen AK, Hastings JC, Le NC, Reiland HA, Case KA, Baumler DJ (2014) Antimicrobial properties of chili peppers. J Infect Dis Ther 2:145
Korbin JE (2002) Culture and child maltreatment: cultural competence and beyond. Child Abuse Negl 26:637–644
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interests
K. Janßen, B. Mack-Detlefsen, M. A. Rothschild and S. Banaschak declare that they have no competing interests.
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. Informed consent was obtained from all patients identifiable from images or other information within the manuscript. In the case of underage patients, consent was obtained from a parent or legal guardian.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Janßen, K., Mack-Detlefsen, B., Rothschild, M.A. et al. Hands slashed and rubbed with chili. Rechtsmedizin 28, 219–221 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-017-0220-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-017-0220-8