JOHOR BARU:
A visibly upset Sessions Court judge handed down a 14-year prison sentence on to a single mother and her housemate after they were convicted of on two counts of abusing and neglecting her biological child in August.
Judge V.M. Mabel Sheela sentenced the mother, 27, 27-year-old single mother and her housemate, Awiin Chua, 30, after the hearing was postponed from Oct 10 as she was on sick leave.
When the judge was giving Mabel Sheela, in her judgment, she became emotional and teared up when she recounted she imagined the suffering of the abused 7-year-old male boy endured for victim who was abused over a period of a month.
"The relationship between mother and child is very special. , If you (referring to the victim's mother) ask your child if he wants to follow you, he will definitely want to follow, even if he knows it will hurt.
"The court cannot imagine the condition the victim would have been in if the situation had lasted longer,.. had the public not intervened., The victim would surely have died," she said.
In her submission prior to sentencing, deputy public prosecutor Nur Diyana Zubir that there were more than 20 physical injuries on the victim's body based on the results of the medical examination.
She said the accused abused the victim for a month during which the two accused had custody of the victim because they lived with them.
"The frequency (of the abuse) was every day from July 1 to Aug 9 based on the confirmation of old and new wounds and scars on the victim's body in the medical report.
"The victim was not only beaten but also neglected, where he was left alone, locked in the house without food. There were efforts to stop or save the victim when he was beaten," she said.
The accused were represented by lawyer Nurhazneena Zureen Jaesleen Mohamad Hanafiah.
After taking into account the prosecution's submissions, Mabel Sheela sentenced the accused to seven years in prison for the first and second charges.
The court then ordered the two accused to serve concurrent prison terms for the two charges starting from the date of their arrest on Aug 12.
According to the first charge sheet, the two were accused of achieving the common intention of persecuting a 7-year-old boy under their care, causing the victim to suffer physical injury.
For the second charge, they were alleged to have achieved the common intention of neglecting the child who is also the second child of the single mother when the victim was under their care.
The two acts were allegedly committed in a house near Jalan Wau Kikik 7, Bandar Layangkasa, Pasir Gudang here, between July 1 and Aug 9.
The charges were framed under Section 31(1)(a) of the Children Act 2001 read with Section 34 of the Penal Code which carries a fine of up to RM50,000 or a maximum of 20 years imprisonment or both, if convicted.
On Aug 16, the single mother and her housemate pleaded not guilty after the charges were read out by a court interpreter in front of Judge Fatimah Zahari.
However, on Sept 27, the two changed their pleas to guilty, after the charges against them were read again by the court interpreter in front of Mabel Sheela.
It was earlier reported that a boy was suspected of being abused by two women, one of whom was his biological mother.
The incident that happened to the child was revealed after a neighbour "raided" the house occupied by the mother and son together with an acquaintance of the victim's mother.
