Charge dropped after kid’s skin spots found

The mother accused of abusing her child at a Silver Line stop this week was released on her own recognizance yesterday after prosecutors revealed that what authorities thought were bruises on the child were actually skin markings.

While the aggravated assault charge against Yan Zhu, 44, of Boston, was dropped, prosecutors are still charging her with assault and battery on her 3-year-old daughter.

Witnesses told Transit Police that Zhu “abruptly grabbed the child by one arm and one leg, shook her violently and then threw her to the ground” while at the Tufts Medical Center stop Tuesday morning, according to court documents.

The documents show that police and a child advocate noticed, “bruising along [the child’s] spine and both shoulders … in the shape of obvious finger marks.”

The documents said that Zhu told police “no English” when questioned about the marks. Zhu was arraigned yesterday with the help of a Cantonese interpreter.

However, it wasn’t until a doctor conducted an exam that the bruises were instead diagnosed as a condition known as Mongolian spots.

Zhu’s lawyer, Henry Eaton, told the judge yesterday that Zhu and her daughter had been at the dentist earlier Tuesday and the daughter was feeling discomfort and wet herself while at the bus stop.

“It was a very stressful situation that was taking place,” Eaton said.

It was determined that Zhu’s daughter had sustained no injuries.