Yemisi Arogbonlo, the 24-year-old medical student who allegedly poured hot water on her stepsister, Oluwafunke, on Friday, December 4, at their house on Road 1, Federal Housing Estate, Mile 4, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has denied the crime.
Yemisi, who spoke with Punch Metro on the telephone on Thursday, said she had a fight with Oluwafunke and it was during the scuffle that the 32-year-old mistakenly fell on a bucket of hot water and injured herself.
She said she (Yemisi) had wanted to bath with the water.
Punch Metro had reported that Oluwafunke and her stepmother, Victoria, had a disagreement sometime in September, and the 60-year-old woman fell down, hitting her head against a wall. Victoria was said to have told her four children that Oluwafunke beat her up.
It was reported that Yemisi, who arrived from Nasarawa State where she was studying a medical course on the faithful Friday, allegedly poured hot water on the victim while she (Oluwafunke) was sleeping, inflicting burns injuries on her neck, breasts, chest and leg.
Yemisi, however, said Oluwafunke mistakenly fell on a bucket of hot water she had prepared for her bath.
She said, “I arrived from the school on Friday around 8pm and she was not around. Later, I saw her emerge from her room and we greeted. I told her we had a lot of gist since we last saw about six months ago.
“She said she was surprised I was talking with her. I asked why she said that, and she replied that it was not important.
“I drifted off to sleep and I woke up around 11pm. I boiled water for my bath and took the bucket of water to the bathroom we all shared.
“I was there when I saw her and I asked if she had changed the bed sheet where we would sleep because we share the same bed. She asked if I didn’t hear that she beat up my mother while I was away from home. She said she could not believe that I could still talk to her. I was angry because she didn’t even put into consideration that the woman was old.
“I punched her and that was how we began to struggle and there was confusion in the house.”
Yemisi explained that during the scuffle, Oluwafunke fell on the bucket of hot water, which scalded her body.
She said she regretted fighting with the victim, adding that it was the handiwork of the devil.
“I started crying when I saw what had happened. I treated her wounds to the best of my medical ability and I eventually took her to a hospital.
“My father later took her to another hospital. The medical doctors said somebody will have to stay with her and I decided to do that. Later, her friends came and started insulting me. When her mother also arrived from Lagos, she said I should not stay with her again and all my attempts to explain what happened to her fell on deaf ears,” she added.
But Oluwafunke told Punch Metro on the telephone that the claim she fought with Yemisi was a lie.
“It is a big lie. I was sleeping when she poured hot water on me. She is 24 years old, so how can she overpower me if we actually fought?” she queried.
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