A 44-year-old mother from Forest Haven, Priya Bernard, is calling for witnesses to come forward after her daughter, Pravishka Govender, was injured in the Blue Lagoon toilets on Sunday, October 4. Bernard said she was with her husband and two children at the Blue Lagoon when her daughter asked to use the toilet. She sent her 6-year-old son with her, but before she could enter the toilet, she heard her daughter scream.
Bernard rushed into the toilet and found her daughter crying hysterically with blood running down her hand. She said her daughter's finger was injured after a woman allegedly slammed the toilet door shut on it. A witness told Bernard that the woman had pushed past her daughter to enter the toilet, causing the door to slam onto her finger. Bernard said she was carrying many items and couldn't go into the toilet with her daughter.
Bernard said she overheard a woman who witnessed the incident telling others that what had happened was wrong and that they had hurt her daughter. She asked the women to take responsibility for what happened and to take her daughter to the doctor. One of the women agreed, but the situation changed when they approached the Blue Lagoon bridge. The women turned around, started screaming at Bernard, and refused to take her daughter to the doctor.
The women claimed it was not their fault that Bernard's daughter put her finger in the door and refused to help. Bernard said she was afraid and angry but decided not to start an argument because she was alone with her daughter and didn't know the women. She eventually returned to her husband and explained what happened. Her husband suggested confronting the women, but Bernard advised against it.
Bernard rushed her daughter to the hospital, where she was referred to Gandhi Hospital for an X-ray and further treatment. Her daughter's middle finger on her right hand was injured, and her nail fell off. She has been affected by the incident and didn't go to school on Monday. Bernard regrets not taking photographs or obtaining the women's details while the incident was unfolding.
A witness who saw the incident contacted Bernard and said she recognised the women by sight because she owns a stall at Phoenix Plaza. The witness hoped to identify the women if she saw them again. Bernard wants the woman responsible to be held accountable and is seeking justice for her daughter. She hopes making the incident public will help identify the women and lead to witnesses coming forward.
Bernard expressed her disappointment and hurt at the way the women treated her and her daughter. She said she never thought that people would treat them like that. The incident has left her feeling broken, and she is praying for justice.
Key points
- A Phoenix mother is searching for a woman who allegedly injured her 7-year-old daughter's hand in the Blue Lagoon toilets on October 4.
- The incident occurred when the woman allegedly slammed the toilet door shut on the child's finger as she was entering the toilet.
- The mother is seeking justice for her daughter and hopes that making the incident public will lead to witnesses coming forward.
