(CMR) Zunilda Anaya Baldovino (Zuni) (53), an unlicensed Colombian beautician received several concurrent nine-month jail sentences today from Magistrate Phillipa McFarlane. However, because of excessive delays because of police mismanagement that was reduced to five months.
Her victims have reached out to CMR on numerous occasions complaining about what they felt was police incompetence exorbitant delays. The matter took almost three years to be resolved. In 2017 one victim complained about how Inspect Prendergast had mishandled the matter and told her the case would not proceed after some five months. We assisted her with a formal complaint to the Professional Standards Unit and the case was re-examined and she was formally charged in relation to the injections.
It was alleged that Baldovino was injecting her clients with an unknown substance believed to be silicone; while telling them it was moisturizing vitamin treatments. CMR reported in August that she was found guilty after two customers filed criminal complaints against her.
However, the court heard that she had a previous conviction in 2015 for importing restricted pharmaceuticals and was given a conditional discharge. This time deportation order has been recommended after she completes her sentence.
The magistrate took into consideration the damage caused to the victims and the fact that Baldovino never took any responsibility for her actions – instead of blaming her victims for poor hygiene.
One victim said that she suffered kidney damage from the two year-lengthy courses of antibiotics she was forced to take as a result of the injections. She also endured several corrective surgeries and will still be scarred for life.
Even after she was arrested she continued offering her services illegally and was re-arrested in March 2017. In October 2017 she pleaded not guilty and the matter was set for trial. One of her victims shared the following in 2017:
“Still nothing is done with her, the other ladies that have an issue with their faces told me, for this reason, they don't go to the police because anything they do much more than picking her up and put her back on the road. This been going on since 2013, what it is more they need for Zunilda to do? Look at the case in 2013! Alba had to go away to the Dominican Republic and they had to break her nose to take out what this mad woman had injected in it. She had lumps over her eyes, serious case like that, plus all other cases now at least two of us since December last year denounced her. A few called into the police when saw the news in January and all now they don't have enough evidence as Prendergast said? Do they want us to carry a dead woman there before they can do something about her? The comments I am hearing is that Cayman has no laws, sad!”
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