Minder also gets community service for abusing boy
SEREMBAN: A 23-year-old babysitter who used a knife to cut the right cheek of a boy until he bled and pinched his arm causing swellings has been jailed for 12 months.
Siti Nur Syafiqah Abdul Rahman was also ordered to undergo 120 hours of community service within six months after completing her sentence.
“You are also to deposit a RM1,000 good behaviour bond with one surety, failing which you will serve an additional two months in jail,” Sessions Court judge Surita Budin told her.
Siti Nur Syafiqah pleaded guilty after she was charged with negligence and causing hurt by exposing the three-year-old left under her care to danger. Her jail term starts from the day of her arrest on Nov 5 last year.
She was charged with committing the offence in a room of a unit at Putra Point in Nilai at around midnight of Nov 4 last year.
She was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, punishable under Section 31(a) of the same legislation and could have been jailed up to 20 years or fined up to RM50,000.
In mitigation, counsel Muhammad Hafiz Leman appealed for a minimum jail sentence as this was Siti Nur Syafiqah’s first offence and that she was remorseful.
He said she had moved here from Sarawak in search of a job to provide for her family back home.
“She was also looking after two of the victim’s older siblings and had been promised RM600 for each of them.
“However, she was only paid RM600 in total,” he claimed, adding that she was forced to resort to selling products online to complement her income.
Muhammad Hafiz, from the Legal Aid Department, said the accused had also saved the court’s time by pleading guilty.
“Also, the victim did not sustain serious injuries and has since fully recovered,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Norazihah Asmuni asked the court to impose a punishment which would be a deterrent.
“Saving the court’s time should not be used as a mitigating factor as the accused had caused injury with a knife on a three-year-old child,” she said.
