WA parents accused of neglecting their baby son in the months before he died in hospital have been granted bail, with the Perth Magistrates Court hearing the child was severely malnourished, had saggy skin and eczema with scabs.
Jahley Poata, 30, and Maraea Te Oke Mae Hunia, 31, are alleged to have not sought medical treatment for the baby, who was born in March this year, after he developed a serious health condition in June.
The child was taken to the hospital in Collie, where the couple lived, in late September but because of his condition he was transferred to Perth Children's Hospital where he died last week, aged six months.
On Friday the couple applied for bail, with the police prosecutor saying it would be alleged the baby only put on 1.5 kilograms in the months after his birth, and in the two weeks before he was taken to hospital, only had one wet nappy a day.
It was also alleged Ms Hunia had "coercive control" over Mr Poata and that the baby's grandmother had told them to get medical care for the child, but that did not happen.
The prosecutor said while the exact cause of death was yet to be determined, there was a possibility the charge against the two would be upgraded to murder.
He submitted there was a risk that if released, the couple would interfere with witnesses and endanger the safety of their other children.
Cause of baby's death unknown
In response, Mr Poata's lawyer Leah Clemens said the allegations would be defended and there was a question over "the extent" of her client's "culpability".
Ms Clemens told the court genetic testing was going to be done to examine the possibility the child had a birth disorder which was the cause of his alleged malnourishment and developmental delays.
Ms Clemens also maintained there was evidence the baby died from pneumonia after contracting a bacterial infection in hospital.
The court heard it would take at least six weeks for the baby's exact of cause of death to be determined, and Ms Clemens said it would be unfair for her client to be in custody for so long.
Ms Clemens submitted her client was a grieving parent who was mourning the loss of his baby, and while he had been in custody he had no say over his son's funeral arrangements.
Strict bail conditions
She also highlighted that he had only a minor record of traffic offences and there was no history of him being violent or a risk to his other children.
Ms Hunia appeared in court via video link from Bandyup prison with her lawyer, Melissa Sandars, saying her client wanted to be released so she could say goodbye to her baby.
Ms Hunia wiped away tears as the court was told attending the child's funeral was what was "biggest" in her mind.
Ms Sandars reiterated that the defence would be disputing the child's cause of death, adding that the baby seemed to be improving when he was in the Collie Hospital but contracted a viral infection in Perth Children's Hospital where he got worse.
After Magistrate Ayling informed Ms Hunia she would be granted bail, the 31-year-old thanked her for giving her a chance to see her baby for the last time.
Magistrate Brionie Ayling ruled that bail of $10,000 with a $10,000 surety should be granted.
However, she imposed bail with strict conditions, including that the couple does not discuss the case with each other or prosecution witnesses and that they do not have any unsupervised contact with children under 16.
They are also required to surrender their New Zealand passports and not be near any points of departure from Australia.
Both are due back in court in December.
