Possibly the first Confirmed Covid-19 use for Murder: Railway Worker dies after infected Man spits on her.

[ObsidianJones]

I'm not sure what is happening, but people are becoming depraved. Like simply barbaric.

U.K. railway worker dies of coronavirus after man intentionally spits on her, union says

Authorities in the U.K. are investigating the death of a railway worker who contracted coronavirus after she was allegedly spat and coughed on at London’s Victoria Station in March, the British Transport Police said Wednesday.

The announcement comes one day after the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association said it had learned that the agency was investigating the April 5 death of Belly Mujinga, 47.T
his is an undated photo, provided on uesday, May 12, 2020 by Agnes Ntumba of her sister Belly Mujinga, who has died of coronavirus after being spat at while on duty as a ticket office worker at Victoria Station, in London.Agnes Ntumba via AP

The union said Tuesday that Mujinga and another worker from the station’s ticket office were on the concourse in late March when a man approached them. Her husband, Lusamba Gode Katalay, told the British broadcaster ITV that he asked Mujinga why she was there.

“She said they were working,” he said, according to ITV. “The man said he had the virus and spat on them.”

The union, which added that the man also allegedly coughed on them, said that Mujinga and the second worker reported the incident to the ticket office and asked for the police to be called.

Within days, the union said, she and the other worker became sick and later tested positive for coronavirus.

In a statement to NBC News, Mujinga's employer, Govia Thameslink Railway, said it is “devastated” by Mujinga’s death. “We take any allegations extremely seriously, and we are investigating these claims,” the statement said. The railway said that Govia had also provided CCTV to the British Transport Police.

A spokesman for the agency told the Guardian newspaper that it had obtained footage of the incident that showed a potential suspect.

On April 2, nearly two weeks after the incident, Mujinga, who had underlying respiratory problems, was taken by ambulance to a hospital in north London and intubated, the union said. She died three days later.

Mujinga leaves behind her husband and an 11-year-old daughter, the union said.

In a letter Wednesday to Prime Minster Boris Johnson, the union’s general secretary, Manuel Cortes, asked that a coronavirus compensation program for National Health Service workers be extended to transport employees like Mujinga.

“She put herself on the frontline and she has died of the virus,” Cortes said.

Speaking at the House of Commons Wednesday, Johnson did not address Cortes’ request but called Mujinga’s death “tragic.”

“The fact that she was abused for doing her job is utterly appalling,” he said.

But that man is not the only depraved party here.

Belly Mujinga, 47, was working with a colleague when a member of the public assaulted them, spat and coughed over them and said he had the novel coronavirus, said her union, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), in a statement Tuesday.

Mujinga, who had an underlying health condition, was working for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) on the station concourse at the time of the incident on March 22.
British Transport Police said in a statement to CNN that an investigation into the incident had been launched.

"Belly and her colleague begged to be let to work from inside the building with a protective barrier between them and the public for the rest of that day," TSSA said in its statement.

"Management said they needed people working outside and sent them back out onto the concourse for the rest of their shift."

Both women went back outside and completed their shift, added the union, but they had no personal protective equipment.

Mujinga had underlying respiratory problems for which she had had an operation, regular hospital appointments and had previously needed to take time off work, according to TSSA.

The union says GTR knew about her condition and, even after the incident, only stood Mujinga down after her doctor called her work around March 25.

Manuel Cortes, TSSA general secretary, accused GTR of not taking Mujinga's assault "seriously enough" and criticized the company.

"As a vulnerable person in the 'at risk' category and her condition known to her employer, there are questions about why GTR didn't stand her down from front line duties early on in this pandemic,"

Cortes said in the TSSA statement. "There are serious questions about her death, it wasn't inevitable."

GTR is investigating the accusations, it said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday, adding it takes the allegations "extremely seriously."

"The safety of our customers and staff, who are key workers themselves, continues to be front of mind at all times and we follow the latest Government advice," Angie Doll, managing director at Southern Railway and Gatwick Express, said in the statement.

"We are devastated that our dedicated colleague Belly has passed away and our deepest sympathies are with her family, with whom we have been in touch through this very difficult time," she also said.

Both Mujinga and her colleague fell ill from Covid-19 within days of the assault, according to TSSA.

On April 2 -- just 11 days after the incident -- Mujinga was taken to Barnet Hospital, north London, in an ambulance and put on a ventilator.

"Belly died on 5 April, 14 days after she was assaulted at Victoria station," TSSA said.

What is there actually to say? The callous actions of two parties directly caused this woman's death. The disgusting man who hasn't got the courage to turn himself in but had so much gumption before to gamble with another human's life is one thing. But this company KNEW she had health problems. They knew it. The Coronavirus wasn't an unknown situation at the time. But it was no risk to them.

I want to say monetary recompense for the family must be issued, but this is actually around the time my mother passed from Covid-19 as well. And money doesn't solve anything. It's a hollow gesture. You gain what? Funeral cost? A few trinkets? You just want your loved one back.

 

[Buyetyen]

There were people who did this during 1918 pandemic as well. Selfish, miserable assholes are a feature of every society, regrettably.

 

[Agema]

There is simply no way to pursue a murder case against this man, because it could not be reasonably proven the worker contracted covid-19 from him as opposed to some other source. At the present moment, we can't know whether he did have covid-19: he may not, and have just been extraordinarily obnoxious.

Deliberate spitting on someone does however constitute assault in the UK. I suppose the assailant could, however, be charged with attempted murder if he spat and coughed at someone whilst knowingly being infected with a potentially lethal disease.

There is currently also a debate about whether death payments should be made to the relatives of key workers who have seen duty and died of covid-19. Doesn't replace the dead person, but it is arguably fairer to acknowledge the sacrifice they made for their job.

 

[Gordon_4]

There is simply no way to pursue a murder case against this man, because it could not be reasonably proven the worker contracted covid-19 from him as opposed to some other source. At the present moment, we can't know whether he did have covid-19: he may not, and have just been extraordinarily obnoxious.

Deliberate spitting on someone does however constitute assault in the UK. I suppose the assailant could, however, be charged with attempted murder if he spat and coughed at someone whilst knowingly being infected with a potentially lethal disease.

There is currently also a debate about whether death payments should be made to the relatives of key workers who have seen duty and died of covid-19. Doesn't replace the dead person, but it is arguably fairer to acknowledge the sacrifice they made for their job.

Haven’t there been cases with people being charged with a crime for deliberate and/or negligent behaviour causing them to infect others with diseases like HIV/AIDS?

 

[Agema]

Haven’t there been cases with people being charged with a crime for deliberate and/or negligent behaviour causing them to infect others with diseases like HIV/AIDS?

Yes, several. The offence they were prosecuted for was causing grievous bodily harm (GBH). For those unacquainted with the term, it's essentially assault inflicting serious injury.

 

[Gordon_4]

Yes, several. The offence they were prosecuted for was causing grievous bodily harm (GBH). For those unacquainted with the term, it's essentially assault inflicting serious injury.

Well, we’ll start with that then.

 

[Trunkage]

Well, we’ll start with that then.

You have way more difficulty catching HIV. Usually its via blood or semen.

With Covid, it could be ANY passenger. She might have had to pick up someone's rubbish and contracted. She might have contracted it going to the toilets. You have to prove that this guy was the cause of her death, and a defence attorney can just blame anything

 

[Gordon_4]

You have way more difficulty catching HIV. Usually its via blood or semen.

With Covid, it could be ANY passenger. She might have had to pick up someone's rubbish and contracted. She might have contracted it going to the toilets. You have to prove that this guy was the cause of her death, and a defence attorney can just blame anything

For murder or manslaughter, yes we would. Buut as Agema pointed out, the mere act of being spat upon qualifies as an assault. So we start with that.

EDIT: although now I see why you quoted me and I look like a right berk. But yeah, the burden of proof is stupid high for death via COVID-19 but there is ample evidence that the worker was physically assaulted. So its small comfort but they should get nailed with that at least.