KUALA LUMPUR: A kindergarten principal has been fined RM2,000 after pleading guilty to causing injury to a six-year-old girl by twisting her ear after she incorrectly wrote the letter "G".
Ampang Sessions Court Judge Nurulizwan Ahmad Zubir handed down the sentence to the 61-year-old woman on March 27 and ordered her to serve 20 days in jail if she failed to pay the fine.
She was charged with voluntarily causing hurt to the girl at the kindergarten in Taman Cempaka here at 11.30am on March 6, 2024.
The charge, under Section 323 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum jail term of one year, a fine of up to RM2,000, or both.
According to the facts of the case, the victim's 37-year-old mother was informed by her eldest 10-year-old child that the accused had struck the victim's right hand with a marker pen.
The accused had also pulled and twisted the girl's ear for writing the letter "G" incorrectly. A medical examination later confirmed that there was soft tissue injury on the victim's right ear.
Earlier, the accused's lawyer, Jenifer Irithusamy, requested a minimal fine to give her client a chance to rebuild her life.
"The accused is a single mother with two children and works as a kindergarten principal earning RM3,000 a month. She has apologised to the court, the police and the victim, and has promised not to repeat the offence," the lawyer said.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Hairuliqram Hairuddin, however, urged for a proportionate sentence, arguing that public interest outweighed personal circumstances and that a guilty plea should not automatically warrant a lenient punishment. – Bernama
