Probe in Child's Death to Expand after Questions over Maid's Role
Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi on Friday announced that he has decided to expand a probe into the mysterious death of toddler girl Celine Rakan, amid reports that the investigation was not thorough and that the Ethiopian maid was suddenly accused of murdering the child.
The minister said he discussed the issue with State Prosecutor Samir Hammoud and they agreed to refer the case to the judicial department for further investigations.
“We are also exploring the possibility of forming a medical panel to exhume the body, and dissect it if needed, in order to unveil the truth and punish anyone proven guilty,” Rifi added.
He called on media outlets not to make speculations before the results of the probe are out, stressing that any suspect is “innocent until proven guilty.”
Earlier on Friday, LBCI TV reported that “there has been rejection of performing an autopsy on the body, which is usually an essential step to determine the cause of death.”
The Internal Security Forces had on Thursday announced that “the Ethiopian domestic worker confessed to the Msaitbeh police station that she strangled to death the child Celine Rakan out of fear that she might be busted, after the toddler saw her stealing items from the house.”
Her father had blamed an “expired vaccine.”
LBCI said the doctor who administered the inoculation told interrogators that he obtained the vaccines from the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which denied distributing such a vaccine.
The doctor then said he got the vaccine from the so-called Martyr Foundation, “but the foundation also denied possessing such a vaccine,” LBCI added.
“Health Ministry experts are still examining the vaccines, which are undergoing laboratory tests,” the TV network said.
“If Celine was strangled, why didn't the forensic doctor discover any asphyxiation symptoms? Could a 4-year-old toddler girl have understood that the maid was stealing?” LBCI wondered, noting that “the maid was not granted her legal right to defend herself and she was not escorted by any lawyer to the investigation.”
Media reports had said the maid turned off security cameras for an hour on the day of the crime and that investigators determined that Celine was killed during that hour.
The case caught public attention after the girl's father announced on Facebook that she died because of an “expired vaccine.”
She was laid to rest on October 3 in the Tyre District town of al-Shahabiyeh, her hometown.
“My dear Celine trusted that I will take her away from corruption, that's why she accepted to take the vaccine,” the father, who was planning to emigrate along with his family, wrote on his Facebook account.
His remarks had prompted the health ministry to quickly order the arrest of the physician.
Y.R.
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