MELAKA: A young couple pleaded guilty at two separate Magistrate’s Courts in Ayer Keroh here to charges related to concealing the birth of a baby and administering medication to prevent the baby from being born alive.
In the first proceeding before magistrate Sharda Shienha Mohd Suleiman, the 18-year-old father admitted to concealing the birth of the baby by secretly disposing of the body after the infant was delivered stillborn by his 17-year-old girlfriend.
According to the charge, the accused wrapped the body before placing it in the boot of a car in Kampung Batu Gajah in Merlimau, Jasin, at about 11.40pm on April 25.
The offence, framed under Section 318 of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Syaza Nur Sharif proposed bail at RM15,000.
However, counsel Mohd Farid Abdul Aziz asked for a lower bail, saying the accused was young while his mother was a retiree and single parent who was also caring for his grandmother.
The court allowed bail at RM3,500 and fixed June 10 as the next mention date pending a chemical analysis report and a social report from the Social Welfare Department.
In separate proceedings before magistrate Uthman Abd Ghani, the young mother also pleaded guilty to consuming Misoprostol with the intent to prevent the baby from being born alive.
The offence was allegedly committed in a room in Taman Sutera Wangi, Batu Berendam, at about 10am on April 25.
The charge was framed under Section 315 of the Penal Code, which relates to acts done with the intent to prevent a child from being born alive, providing for imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
The court set bail at RM1,500 and fixed July 9 for the submission of a social report.
