A woman charged with making threats to kill, after allegedly pouring coffee on a 3-year-old and her mother, had only hours earlier appeared in the Dunedin District Court on unrelated charges.
Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said a 30-year-old woman was at a cafe with her 3-year-old child about 12.25pm on Thursday.
A 27-year-old woman poured hot liquid on them and allegedly made threats to kill, Snr Sgt Bond said.
No injuries were reported other than some red marks on the child.
The women were known to each other, Sgt Bond said.
A witness said she saw the incident unfold outside Roslyn Takeaways in Highgate.
The mother appeared to be putting her child in her car, when the other woman walked up and dumped a cup of coffee on them, the witness said.
The alleged assailant then walked off shouting threats to kill the mother, who responded by saying "don’t do it Amber", the witness said.
The mother and child were left covered in coffee and the child was crying, the witness said.
A staff member from Coffee Culture Roslyn helped to get the mother and baby cleaned up.
The coffee, in a plain cup, did not appear to have been bought there, the witness said.
The arrested woman appeared before community magistrate Simon Heale in the Dunedin District Court yesterday, charged with threatening to kill, assault with intent to injure and common assault.
Bail was declined and she was remanded in custody until November 24.
