Indian-origin woman dies of burn injuries in Australia

Sydney: An Indian-origin homeless woman, who suffered 80 per cent burns as a result of what she called an acid attack, died in a hospital in Australia.

Monika Chetty, 39, was found by police at Hoxton Park in Sydney Jan 3 after a resident reported hearing a woman crying for help.

It was found that the Fijian Indian woman had been roaming in Sydney for weeks after being horribly disfigured in an incident involving chemicals, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday.

Residents had seen Chetty washing under garden taps and begging for food before being taken to hospital. She initially rejected medical help.

Later, she was transferred to Concord Hospital's Burns Unit and questioned by police. Chetty, who reportedly has three children who live with her former husband, said the burns were the result of an acid attack in Liverpool's Bigge Park.

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Chetty died on Friday evening in the hospital.

However, there were conflicting reports about her injuries.

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"Monika (said she) is recovering from burns sustained from opening the radiator cap on her Ford Laser car, which she sleeps in," Jameel Ahmed of Hoxton Park told the Indian Australian Association of New South Wales president Yadu Singh.

But Ahmed said the burns appeared to be "far more aggressive" than what you could expect to receive from a radiator cap.

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Yadu Singh said he would be surprised if the burns were the result of an acid attack. "The acid attack is very unusual in Australia," he said. "If it is an acid attack, this is not acceptable."

Police officer James Johnson described the case as one of the "biggest mysteries" he has come across in his career.