KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has dismissed an application by Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali to postpone the execution of a 12-year prison sentence for neglecting and abusing a girl with Down syndrome, known as Bella, three years ago.
Justice Azhar Abdul Hamid made the decision after lawyer Asyraaf Abu Bakar Hamzah, representing Siti Bainun, 32, informed the court that the defence intended to withdraw the application.
During the proceedings, Asyraaf said Siti Bainun wanted to withdraw the application at the High Court here that was filed on June 6 last year.
“We want to focus on the appeal at the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya,” he said yesterday, Sinar Harian reported.
Deputy public prosecutor Syajaratudur Abd Rahman prosecuted.
The date for the appeal to set aside the conviction and sentence at the Court of Appeal has not yet been set.
On May 2 last year, Justice Noorin Badaruddin (now a Court of Appeal judge) upheld the conviction and 12-year prison sentence against Siti Bainun.
She made the decision after rejecting her appeal to set aside the conviction and sentence handed down by the Sessions Court here in May 2023. However, the judge directed the defence to file a new application to suspend the execution of the prison sentence if necessary.
On May 3, 2023, Sessions Court judge Izralizam Sanusi sentenced Siti Bainun to 12 years in prison after finding her guilty on two charges of neglecting and abusing Bella, 13.
The court ordered the defendant to serve the sentence immediately at Kajang Prison after rejecting her application to postpone the sentence.
The court also ordered the accused to sign a good behaviour bond for five years with one guarantor and set bail of RM5,000.
Siti Bainun was charged with neglecting and abusing the victim, causing the teenage girl with Down syndrome to suffer physical and emotional injuries in a condominium unit in Wangsa Maju between February and June 2021.
