Men in court over separate incidents of child abuse

Two men are due in court today in connection with separate incidents of alleged child abuse, one which has left a baby fighting for life and the other in which a toddler died this year.

The cases follow the arrest of Manurewa man Christopher Kahui on Friday for the murder of his baby twin sons, Chris and Cru, who died from head injuries in June.

In the most recent case, a 4-week-old boy from Papakura was admitted to the Starship children's hospital last Tuesday with head injuries that experts say are consistent with shaken baby syndrome. His condition was last night described as critical but stable.

Yesterday police arrested a 20-year-old from Papakura and charged him with assault. He is due to appear in the Manukau District Court today.

Detective Senior Sergeant John Tims said a team of 12 investigators were still working on the case and further charges might be laid if the baby's condition deteriorates.

The second man to appear in the court today is an 18-year-old who was arrested in connection with the death of Waiuku toddler Arwen Fletcher.

The 2-year-old girl was admitted to the Starship on March 15 with a fractured skull and other head injuries. She died two days later.

Mr Tims said the arrested man is also from Waiuku and is facing a murder charge.

A Christchurch toddler is still critically ill in the Starship after suffering serious head injuries last week. The 17-month-old girl was taken to Christchurch Hospital, then flown to the Starship for emergency surgery on Wednesday. She remained in a critical condition last night.

Detective Senior Sergeant John Rae said the girl's mother and her partner, who is not the infant's father, were co-operating with police.

The investigation was initiated after the hospital alerted police about the girl's injuries.

A forensic examination of the house where the injuries happened was completed on Friday and cordons surrounding it have since been removed.

Mr Rae said the mother's partner lived at the unit and both were present when the ambulance was called. The mother and toddler did not live at the address.