KUALA LUMPUR: A housewife has been sentenced to eight years in prison by the Kuala Selangor Sessions Court after pleading guilty to abusing her adopted daughter using a mortar and pestle, and slashing the victim with a knife.
Judge Nurul Mardhiah Mohammed Redza imposed the sentence on the 54-year-old woman on Friday (July 4), ordering the jail term to run from the date of arrest, June 28.
The court also imposed a two-year good behaviour bond and ordered her to perform 40 hours of community service within four months after completing her prison sentence.
The accused, who was the guardian of a 13-year-old girl, was charged with abusing the victim by hitting her with a piece of wood, a mortar and pestle, as well as slashing her body with a knife.
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The offence was committed at a house in Taman Bendahara, Kuala Selangor, in June. She was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which provides for a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both, upon conviction.
According to the facts of the case, the accused, who had been caring for the victim since the child's infancy, had physically assaulted and abused the girl, resulting in broken teeth and multiple injuries.
Investigations and a medical examination confirmed that the injuries sustained were consistent with physical abuse.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Nor Hakimi Mohamad Rosedin urged the court to impose a proportionate and deterrent sentence as a lesson to both the accused and the wider community, citing public interest and the alarming frequency of child abuse cases.
"The accused has committed a serious offence... I respectfully request the court to review the photographs of the victim’s injuries, which clearly show that the accused failed in her responsibilities as the victim’s guardian.
"The accused’s actions have left both physical and psychological scars on her adopted child, who is now suffering from trauma,” he added.
Meanwhile, lawyer Khairul Hazwan Rashid Mohd Redduan from the National Legal Aid Foundation, who represented the accused, appealed for the prison sentence to begin from the date of arrest.
He also said that his client is unable to pay any fine, as she has no source of income and her husband is currently in jail for a drug-related offence. – Bernama
