KUALA LUMPUR: Two former caregivers were each jailed for one year by the Sessions Court after pleading guilty to abusing a nine-month-old baby girl and a six-month-old baby boy at a childcare centre.
Judge Noridah Adam sentenced Perada Randai, 27, and Yella Prissillia, 29, who were charged separately yesterday.
Perada, from Sibu, Sarawak, admitted to abusing the baby girl by slapping her cheeks and knocking her head, while Yella, an Indonesian national, admitted to pinching the baby boy’s legs, covering his face with a pillow and forcing him to drink milk.
The offences were committed at a childcare centre in Kampung Baru Salak Selatan here between 8am and 6pm on Dec 15 last year, Bernama reported.
The charges were framed under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment of up to 20 years or both, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Adiba Iman Hassan urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence, citing the victims’ injuries, tender age and vulnerable condition.
Perada’s lawyer appealed for leniency, saying his client had a 10-month-old child and had never been separated from the baby.
Yella, who was unrepresented, apologised and promised not to repeat the offence.
In a victim impact statement, the mother of the baby boy, Nur Fathin Liyana Zulkifli, said her child was now being cared for by her parents after she and her husband lost trust in outside caregivers.
“I suffered four miscarriages before he was born. Having a child was not easy, and my baby is still traumatised by what happened,” she said tearfully.
The case drew public attention after CCTV footage went viral on social media, allegedly showing a six-month-old infant being thrown, rolled and slapped by a caregiver at a nursery.
The footage sparked outrage and concern among parents amid claims that several other infants had also been abused there.
