Woman charged with murder of five-year-old son

JOHOR BARU: A woman has been charged at the magistrate court here with causing the death of her five-year-old son.

No plea was recorded from the accused, R. Kaleswary, 35, when the murder charge was read to her before magistrate Nurmadiana Mamat.

According to the charge sheet, Kaleswary had intentionally caused the death of her child between 9am and 12.20pm on Dec 3.

She was said to have committed the offence on the upper floor of a business building at Taman Sri Yaakub, Iskandar Puteri.

She was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty upon conviction.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Khairunnisa Zainudin while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.

Nurmadiana set Feb 15 for next mention and documents submission while no bail was allowed.

Meanwhile, in a separate court, Kaleswary and her 32-year-old boyfriend, Muhammad Iskandar Abdullah were charged together under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001.

The couple were accused of abusing the five-year-old, causing the child to sustain physical injuries, between April and Dec 3 this year.

Kaleswary pleaded guilty while Muhammad Iskandar claimed trial when the charge was read in front of judge Fatimah Zahari at the Johor Baru Sessions Court here.

The court postponed Kaleswary's sentencing pending a post-mortem result of the five-year-old's body.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutors M. Raveena and Chai Ing Hen while both accused were not represented by a lawyer.

Muhammad Iskandar was allowed bail at RM14,000 with one surety and is required to report at the nearest police station once a month.

Fatimah set Jan 27 for next mention and sentencing of Kaleswary.

On Dec 4, the police arrested a couple for allegedly causing the death of a five-year-old boy who died of apparent abuse in Iskandar Puteri.

Iskandar Puteri OCPD Asst Comm Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said that the police were informed about the incident by a Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) medical officer at about 12.20pm on Friday (Dec 3).