KUALA LUMPUR: A babysitter pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court here on Thursday (Jan 8) to two counts of abusing two infants at a childcare centre in December last year.
The accused, Perada Randai, 27, from Sibu, Sarawak, made the plea after the charges were read before Judges Suhaila Haron and Noridah Adam in separate proceedings.
According to the charge, the woman, who was entrusted with the care of a nine-month-old baby girl, committed abuse by slapping the infant’s cheek and knocking her head, acts that could have caused injury to the victim.
She was also charged with committing a similar offence against a six-month-old baby boy by covering the infant’s face with a pillow and forcing him to drink milk.
The offences were allegedly committed at a childcare centre in Kampung Baru Salak Selatan here between 8am and 6pm on Dec 15. The accused was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which carries a maximum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both, upon conviction.
The court then allowed the accused to be released on bail of RM12,000 for both charges and fixed Jan 16 for the prosecution to present the facts of the case and for sentencing.
In a related development, an Indonesian woman who also worked as a babysitter at the same childcare centre, Yella Prissillia, 29, pleaded guilty to committing a similar offence against the same baby boy.
She was charged with pinching the infant’s leg, covering his face with a pillow and forcing him to drink milk. However, the woman pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of abusing another four-month-old baby boy by violently shaking the infant’s rocking chair.
The offence was allegedly committed at the same location and on the same date, and the accused was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which carries similar penalties.
Judge Noridah denied bail to Yella on the grounds that she is a foreign national without valid travel documents and fixed Feb 13 for the presentation of facts and sentencing.
Another local babysitter at the centre, Stephanie Agus, 19, pleaded not guilty to a similar charge involving the six-month-old baby boy. She was accused of swaddling the infant and allowing him to drink milk without supervision at the same location and on the same date.
She was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which carries similar penalties.
Judge Suhaila allowed Stephanie bail of RM8,000 in one surety and fixed Feb 16 for mention of the case.
Previously, the media reported that a woman was traumatised after CCTV footage showed her six-month-old being thrown, rolled and slapped by a childcare employee.
The footage sparked public outcry and concern, with allegations that several other infants at the childcare centre were also abused.- Bernama
