KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here today sentenced a baby sitter to a year in jail and fine of RM10,000, in default two monthsâ jail, for neglecting an 11-month-old child, resulting in the boy to be injured and become partially paralysed.
Judge Mahyon Talib handed down the sentence on Azlina Lizawati Ahmad Tarmizi, 37, after the woman changed her plea to guilty when the case came up for mention.
Besides the jail sentence, which was to be served from today, and fine, Mahyon also ordered the woman to be placed on a good behaviour bond with bail of RM5,000 for three years and to do 180 hours of community service.
Azlina Lizawati was charged with neglecting the child, who was then under her care, at a house in Desa Tun Hussein Onn, Jalan Jelatek, Wangsa Maju, here between 7am and 10am on July 23, 2020.
The charge was framed under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act, which provides a maximum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to 20 years, or both, if found guilty.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Nurul Shahieza Md Hazai requested the court to impose a severe punishment taking into account the serious injuries suffered by the victim that caused him to be disabled for life.
âThe accused was also not honest and was irresponsible, as well as not registered as a baby sitter with the Social Welfare Department. She also has no certificate or qualification on early childhood education.
âThe increase in cases of ill-treatment, neglect and abuse of children by baby sitters in Malaysia clearly reflects the need for a severe sentence to be imposed as a lesson to the accused and the society,â she added.
In mitigation, lawyer Raihanah Abdul Razak, from the National Legal Aid Foundation, who represented the baby sitter, said her client, who has three children with the youngest aged five months, was remorse and it was her first offence.
According to the facts of the case, the child was left by his parents in a heathy condition at the baby sitterâs house at 7am, and at 10am was picked up by the father after being informed that the child was crying non-stop.
Feeling that his baby was in pain, the father took the child to a clinic, which later instructed him to bring the boy to a hospital for x-ray, where it was later found that the child had a fractured spine and nerve injuries.
A medical report by the hospital showed that the baby suffered permanent injuries where the victim could not move his body.
Following the incident, the victim is permanently disabled and had been issued with a People With Disability (PwD) card. â Bernama
