KUALA LUMPUR: A single mother pleaded not guilty to child abandonment at the Sessions Court on Wednesday (July 24).
The 27-year-old woman was charged under Section 33 (1)(c) of the Child Act 2001, which carries a fine of not more than RM20,000 or a maximum of five years in jail or both.
Clad in a black-and-white blouse, the woman cried when the charge was read out to her.
The woman, who works at a fast food outlet, was accused of leaving her three-year-old child without reasonable supervision at an apartment in Setapak sometime in June this year.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Afiq Nazrin Zaharinan asked for a bail of RM20,000 with one surety and additional conditions to ensure that the suspect was not in contact with the victim.
Judge Rohaitul Akmar Abdullah, however, denied bail after the accused told the court that she has no one to bail her out.
The case mention date was set for Aug 26.
It is believed that the woman's neighbour made the report after the neighbour's wife, who babysat the woman's child, noticed bruises on the child's torso and limbs.
The woman, who was unrepresented in court, has another six-year-old child.
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