Make Child Act more inclusive to curb abuse, say lawyers who held watching brief in Bella case

KUALA LUMPUR: The Child Act 2001 needs to be improved to be more inclusive in protecting children from neglect, ill-treatment, abuse and exploitation, said lawyers holding a watching brief in the case of Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali who was charged with neglecting and abusing Down syndrome teenager Bella.

According to a media statement issued by the group of lawyers appointed by Tunku Mahkota of Johor (TMJ) Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, cases of neglect and abuse are a manifestation of legal loopholes that need to be immediately covered by making improvements to the law.

"It is important to ensure that the operation of childcare centres is only carried out by those who are well-trained and not make the centres a medium to collect donations or contributions from any party," it read.

ALSO READ: Bella case: Siti Bainun gets 12 years' jail for abusing Down Syndrome teen

The lawyers are Datuk Khairul Anwar Rahmat, Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu, Datuk Ikbal Salam and Mohd Radzi Yatiman.

They said the Social Welfare Department and the National Council for Children need to immediately activate a comprehensive policy and action plan for children.

"Policies and plans that already exist should be activated to ensure that the case of child neglect and abuse like in the case of Down syndrome girl Bella does not happen again.

"These plans and policies need to be implemented with strict compliance and should not be done seasonally when there is a case of child abuse," the statement read.

It was issued on Wednesday (May 3) as Siti Bainun, 31, was sentenced to a total of 22 years in prison by the Sessions Court here after she was found guilty of two counts of neglecting and abusing Bella.

The court sentenced her to 10 years in prison for neglect and 12 years for abuse, with the jail terms to run concurrently from Wednesday.

ALSO READ: Bella case: Stay of execution denied, Siti Bainun ordered to serve jail sentence from May 3

According to the lawyers, they saw the injuries caused by the abuse on Bella, which were too painful for a child to bear and could cause mental, emotional and physical trauma.

"We, as the lawyers appointed by the Tunku Mahkota Johor to hold a watching brief in the case express our appreciation to the 'JusticeforBella' activists who opened the public's eyes to the episode of abuse that took place and also thank the Tunku Mahkota of Johor and his wife for their concern," the lawyers added. – Bernama