Bella case: Siti Bainun fabricated hot water incident, says judge

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here found that Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali’s testimony that Bella, a teenage girl with Down syndrome, was injured by hot water from a flask was fabricated because the incident never occurred.

Judge Izralizam Sanusi said in his judgment that Siti Bainun testified that on May 6 to 9, 2021, she and her housemate, Noor Marliana Ramlee, the third defence witness, left a condominium unit in Wangsa Maju to work at Rumah Bonda in Setapak.

"The accused explained that on that date, she had left Bella along with Yasmin (the fifth prosecution witness), Balqis, Aida and Tulus Jiwa in the condominium unit.

"Siti Bainun said that while she was at work, she received a phone call from Yasmin telling her that there had been a scuffle between Bella and Balqis, resulting in water from a flask spilling on Bella in the condominium unit’s laundry room.

“However, the accused failed to produce any incoming call records showing that Yasmin had contacted her,” he said.

According to Izralizam, the accused’s testimony about the incident was hearsay because she was not at the scene and did not witness it.

"Yasmin denied the incident, and Bella, despite being called to testify, never confirmed it. Balqis and Aida were offered to be called as defence witnesses, but they were never called to testify,” he said while reading the 12-page verdict.

In addition, the judge said the accused, as an individual who was ordered by the Magistrate's Court here on Sept 24, 2020, to care for Bella, should notify and discuss any problems with the teenager’s protection officer, Mohamad Imran Mohamed Zanyuin (the 12th prosecution witness).

He said the accused did not immediately inform Mohamad Imran of the incident, which was said to have happened between May 6 and 9, 2021, but instead told the 12th prosecution witness on June 24, 2021, through the WhatsApp application and when Bella was taken to the hospital.

"However, the accused’s WhatsApp message to the 12th prosecution witness contradicts her testimony that Bella ran to the kitchen and fought over something with Balqis before the hot water spilled on her in the laundry room.

"The accused’s failure to inform Mohamad Imran of the incident within a reasonable period after the incident occurred and subsequent sending of a contradictory message shows that her testimony to the court was fabricated,” he said.

Izralizam said the accused’s act of taking Bella or referring the girl’s injuries to a doctor after almost a month of the hot water incident, that was said to cause serious hurt to the child, was unreasonable.

He said this showed that the hot water accident never actually happened and the claim over the incident should be rejected.

According to Izralizam, the accused also did not present expert testimony that could refute the testimony of several doctors who were prosecution witnesses who confirmed that Bella’s injuries were not the result of a single incident because there were old wounds and scars on the teenager’s body.

Siti Bainun, 31, was sent to Kajang Prison to serve her 12-year sentence from today after the court dismissed her application for a stay of the jail sentence.

Earlier, Izralizam sentenced Siti Bainun to 12 years in prison after finding her guilty of neglecting and abusing Bella. - Bernama