KOTA KINABALU: A mother was sentenced to 30 years in jail and fined RM100,000 by the Sessions Court here, on two counts of abusing her two children.
The 32-year-old woman, pleaded guilty to the charges under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, read to her before Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad.
In the first charge, the woman from Kampung Menunggui in Kota Belud, who is jobless, was accused of abusing her 11-year-old daughter from January 1 to July 31, this year.
In the second charge, she is also accused of abusing her nine-year-old son at about 12pm, on July 31 this year.
The accused allegedly committed the offences in an unnumbered house at Kampung Sarang in Kota Belud.
Ainul imposed a 15-year jail time and RM50,000 fine, in default, six months’ jail for each count.
The court also ordered the woman to serve her jail sentence consecutively from the day of her arrest.
According to the facts of case, an officer from the Kota Belud Welfare Services Department had on July 31 at 12pm gone to the accused’s house to pick up the two children after they were suspected to have been neglected.
The officer had found the accused’s nine-year-old son naked and chained. The accused and the children’s stepfather were at home at that time.
Investigation revealed several witnesses have seen the mother beating her children with her hands or using an object.
It was learnt that the accused had taken to release her frustration on her children after finding out her husband had another wife and had stopped providing for the family, financially.
Meanwhile in the same court, the family’s 50-year-old neighbour pleaded not guilty to committing sexual offences against the 11-year-old girl.
The Indonesian man was accused of committing sexual physical assault against the victim on Nov 2017 at about 10pm.
He was accused of committing the offence charged under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 in a house at the same village.
The court fixed Sept 4 for case management against the man.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Rustam Sanip conducted the prosecution, while both accused were unrepresented.