Plastic surgeon Dr Salmi Mohamed Shukur, 46, said Bella, a teenager, had been scalded on both hands.
“Bella cried while her wounds were being cleaned and we (medical officers) had to hold her hands.
“Bella’s left hand had 1% scald while the wounds on the right hand had 0.5% scald. I saw there were red and hot swellings, with symptoms of bacterial infection,” she told the court.
She said she approached Bella to find out the source of the scald from the patient.
“She did not talk about the source of the scald and I did not want to press her,” said the surgeon, who is the 15th witness to testify in the trial of Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali, who is accused of neglect and abuse of the girl.
Salmi said she thought the injuries were three weeks old.
She said the two scald wounds on Bella’s hands could be due to hot water, based on the report given by Dr Sheshadri Sridar, the medical officer under her supervision who treated Bella.
Salmi said there were no parties who asked her to provide the medical report.
She said Bella’s right hand recovered after about a month of treatment and the left hand recovered a month later, taking about six weeks.
“The last time I met Bella was on Sept 14, 2021. At that time, Bella’s home caretaker applied for the teenager to be transferred to Seremban Hospital. I saw the wound was turning into a scar,” she said.
She said Bella was active and loved to draw when she was in the hospital ward.
Questioned by deputy public prosecutor Nor Azizah Mohamad on the current condition of Bella’s wound, Salmi said the scar on the right hand had matured while the scar on the left hand is still red and coarse, requiring further treatment.
Asked about Bella’s physical condition while she was in hospital, the witness said Bella appeared small, weighing 35kg, but she was not skinny nor had sunken eyes.
Salmi said when Bella was admitted on June 24 last year, she received treatment for scalds on both hands. She did not have a fever or fits and was in stable condition.
The witness agreed with lawyer Asiah Abd Jalil, representing Siti Bainun, the wound could cause the patient to have a fever and fits, if they were not treated.
She also agreed that Bella’s head was shaved bald for the treatment of old wounds on her head.
However, Salmi denied pictures of wounds allegedly sustained by Bella while she was in hospital, which had been widely shared on Facebook.
Siti Bainun, 30, is on trial on two charges of neglect and abuse of Bella, causing her to suffer physical injuries and emotional trauma between February and June 2021 at a condominium in Wangsa Maju here.
The trial before judge Izralizam Sanusi resumes tomorrow.