UK News 28-08-2002 Climbié Care Worker Guilty Of Blocking Enquiry who: Care worker Carole Baptiste what: Fined £500 for obstructing public enquiry into Climbié murder case where: Magistrates` Court, CAMBERWELL - SE5 when: Yesterday snippet: "The parents of murdered Victoria Climbié yesterday reacted angrily," says The Mirror, "after a social worker was fined £500 for refusing to help the public inquiry into her death." "Carole Baptiste was found guilty of ignoring a summons to give evidence before the inquiry into the abused child`s death chaired by Lord Laming," explains The Guardian`s Vikram Dodd from Camberwell magistrates court in South London. "Ms Baptiste had claimed her medical condition meant she was unfit to testify, but this argument was rejected by district judge Hayden Gott." "Victoria, eight, died in February 2000 after being beaten, starved and tortured by her great aunt, Marie Therese Kouao, and her lover, Carl Manning," recalls The Sun. They are serving life for murder. Ms Baptiste, 39, is the first person ever to be prosecuted for obstructing a public enquiry. She was a manager with Haringey council where she was responsible for Victoria`s case until three months before her death. "We feel we have been betrayed by Carole Baptiste," says Victoria`s father Francis. "Now that we find that she was capable of attending the inquiry and she was not ill, we are more hurt." [... more]

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