Man, 32, arrested for scalding wife
Police in Chitipa have arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly scalding his wife with burning charcoal after the two picked a quarrel.
Chitipa Police Station spokesperson Solemn Chunga yesterday identified the man as Asiweki Panja of Mkombanyama Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mwaulambia in the district.
Panja has since been charged with unlawful wounding and will appear before court soon.
According to Chunga, the suspect poured burning charcoal on his wife, Chrissie Mulungu, whom he accused of taking time in preparing food. The wife is now battling for her life at Chitipa District Hospital following the scalding.
“The suspect went to drink beer and later went home where he found his wife cooking nsima. The man became furious accusing her of delaying in cooking the food, a development that surprised the wife since the suspect didn’t leave any money for relish.
“They started quarrelling and the husband started assaulting the wife. He then removed the pot from the charcoal burner, got the burner and tipped the live charcoal on her.
“The woman was heavily burnt and was rushed to the hospital where she was admitted and is still receiving treatment,” said Chunga.
He called on victims of gender-based violence to report such cases to police, adding that a number of people keep the matters secret, yet such tendencies are a threat to their lives.
