KUCHING: A woman was fined RM4,000, in default six months in jail, by the Magistrate's Court here today after pleading guilty to a charge of concealing the birth of her premature baby by secretly disposing of the body.
Kui Chai Hui, 24, entered the guilty plea before Magistrate Ling Hui Chuan as soon as the charge, framed under Section 318 of the Penal Code, was read out to her.
The charge provides a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.
She was charged with concealing the birth by burying the baby in a small forested area opposite her house in Taman Malihah on Jan 28 this year.
According to the facts of the case, Ku, who was seven months' pregnant at the time, sought treatment at Sarawak General Hospital after experiencing abdominal pain and bleeding. She later informed the attending doctor that she had delivered a baby.
Further investigations revealed that she had given birth in her bathroom and subsequently buried the infant. She told medical personnel that the baby had died.
Overcome by panic following the unexpected delivery, Ku proceeded to bury the baby.
A police report was subsequently lodged, prompting further investigation that led to the discovery of the infant’s body buried in a small forested area in front of her residential neighbourhood.
Ku settled the RM4,000 fine. She was represented by lawyer Milton Foo, while the prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ahmad Fauzulutfi Suriani. – Bernama
