PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has set May 19 to hear the appeal of Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali who was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in jail for the abuse and neglect of a teenager with Down syndrome, Bella, in 2021.
The hearing date was fixed by Court of Appeal deputy registrar Muhammad Noor Firdaus Rosli during a case management session held on Monday.
Siti Bainun’s lawyer, Haijan Omar, confirmed the hearing date to Bernama when contacted.
On May 3, 2023, the Sessions Court sentenced Siti Bainun to 12 years imprisonment after finding her guilty on two charges of neglecting and abusing the 13-year-old teenager.
She was also ordered to sign a RM5,000 five-year good behaviour bond with one surety.
Siti Bainun, 33, was further directed by the court to perform 200 hours of community services, to be completed within six months upon her release from prison.
According to the charge sheet, the abuse took place at a condominium unit in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur between February and June 2021.
Following the conviction, Siti Bainun was sent to Kajang Prison to begin serving her sentence after her application for a stay of execution was rejected by the Sessions Court.
On May 2, last year, the High Court also dismissed her appeal to overturn the conviction and sentence. She then appealed this decision at the Court of Appeal.
The High Court had also denied Siti Bainun’s request for a stay of execution of her prison sentence pending disposal of her appeal at the Court of Appeal.
She subsequently appealed the High Court’s dismissal of her stay of execution of prison sentence to the Court of Appeal but later withdrew it.