Police secretly recorded a man whose wife was suspected of killing a baby, a court has been told.
Shayal Upashna Sami at the High Court in Christchurch this week. Photo: Pool / Fairfax NZ
Shayal Upashna Sami is on trial in the High Court in Christchurch, where she has denied murdering 1-year old Aaliyah Ashlyn Chand in January 2015.
It was day two of her trial today.
Ms Sami - who was 18-years-old and five months pregnant at the time - said the baby was significantly injured when she fell off a couch.
Aaliyah was raced to hospital but never regained consciousness.
The crown alleged Ms Sami "recklessly murdered" Aaliyah.
Her father, Dev Chand, told the court today he observed Ms Sami with his daughter for two days before employing her, and said there were no problems before the baby's death.
Mr Chand worked as a bus driver and said Ms Sami was recommended as a babysitter by one of his colleagues, Nilesh Ram.
Mr Ram was Ms Sami's husband.
Mr Chand said he had a close working relationship with Mr Ram and considered him a friend.
About a week after his daughter's death, police asked Mr Chand to secretly record Mr Ram to gather evidence. Mr Chand agreed and met with Mr Ram to discuss Aaliyah's death while wearing a secret recording device.
Defence lawyer Jonathan Eaton told the court the purpose of the meeting was to get Mr Ram to "tell the truth" about what happened.
The police monitored the conversation nearby.
The court heard that Mr Ram backed his wife's story, that the baby fell off a couch.
Mr Chand told the court Mr Ram was "trustworthy".
Aaliyah's mother, Anjani Lata, also gave testimony today, and she said she had also not had any problems with Ms Sami.
The trial is expected to take two weeks.
