SEREMBAN: A 28-year-old factory worker was fined RM5,000 in default of five months' jail by the Sessions Court here after pleading guilty to illegally aborting her pregnancy.
Nurul Faika Rosli did not contest the charge after it was read to her before judge Siti Aisyah Ab Rashid.
She was charged with committing the offence at a house in Rembau between midnight and 8am on Feb 28 last year.
The accused was charged under Section 315 of the Penal Code, which makes it a serious offence to deliberately prevent a child from being born alive or to cause its death after birth.
Offenders can be jailed for up to 10 years or fined or both upon conviction.
In mitigation, the accused, who was unrepresented, told the court she was remorseful for her action.
Pleading for a lower sentence, she told the court she had to provide for her parents.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Balkis Zunaidi requested the court to impose a sentence that is commensurate with the crime.
She said the accused was carrying a fully formed 16-week-old foetus when she committed the crime.
According to the facts of the case, the accused got married on Feb 7 but realised that she was pregnant on Feb 18.
The pregnancy was the result of a relationship with her husband before they were married.
Worried that her family may find out about her pregnancy, she consumed medication to terminate her pregnancy.
