Razor blade (illustration) By: Chan Yuan

A woman was arrested after she cut her niece with a razor blade because the girl laughed at her while she was having sex.

35-year-old Miriam Mungure of Harare, Zimbabwe, was charged with child neglect after doctors found bruises and cuts on the child.

Prosecutors said that Mungure was upset with the girl because she laughed while she was having sex in a nearby bed. The aunt is accused of cutting the child’s bottom with the razor.

The 8-year-old girl and her aunt share the same bedroom. Mungure appeared before the magistrate Batanai Madzingira, and she was charged with ill-treatment and neglect of a child.

Mungure has been caring for her niece since she was 3 years old. The court heard that the girl sometimes laughs while sleeping and that offended her aunt who chastised her for it over last five years.

Mungure denies the charges.

The abuse came to light when Mungure’s brother came to visit the child while she was not home. He saw some bruises on the child and reported it to the police.

Doctors found the fresh razor blade cuts on the child’s bottom along with some old bruises, pointing to longtime abuse, and Mungure was arrested.