KUALA LUMPUR: A witness in Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali's trial said she had seen the accused leave abuse victim known as Bella in the laundry room sometime in June last year.
Suhana Zam, 40, said she had seen Siti Bainun go into the laundry room of her private home in Irama Wangsa Condominium, here, with Bella, and later walk out alone.
She recalled that it was also the first time she had seen Bella in such a devastating state.
"Siti Bainun had messaged me on June 12 last year, inviting me to her home for dinner."I remember that our other friend, Haiza, was reluctant to go because she could not bear seeing Bella. "However, I told her that if we didn't go, we wouldn't know of Bella's situation. So we went to Siti Bainun's house on June 13 and that is when we saw how bad the situation with Bella was," she said. Suhana said upon arriving at Siti Bainun's house, she was shocked to see Bella standing by a wall. "I immediately could see a bruise, as big as a palm on the right side of her face. It was from her eyebrow and stretched to slightly below her right eye. Her hair was short, almost bald.
"I could not contain my anger and raised my voice at Siti Bainun, asking her what had happened to Bella.
"She just said that there was an altercation, and there was nothing she could do about it," she said.
Suhana said while Siti Bainun's guests were eating, Bella continued standing by the wall, with no food or drinks offered to her.
"Siti Bainun had said that Bella shouldn't be given any drinks to prevent her from urinating in her pants.
"After we were done eating I saw Siti Bainun walking Bella into the laundry room. She later walked out alone.
"I believe Bella was forced to spent the night in the laundry room," she said. Suhana also recalled seeing Siti Bainun force feed Bella fried rice with lots of chillies.
"I cannot recall the date of my visit, but I remember that I was in the living room of Siti Bainun's condominium, and I saw Bella standing in front of the fridge.
"Siti Bainun stood in front of her, and there was a high stool placed between them, with a plate of fried rice on it. There was an exorbitant amount of chillies on the fried rice," she said.
Suhana, who frequently visited Siti Bainun's private home between December 2020 till May 2021, said she remembered seeing Bella's demeanour change over time.
"When I met her sometime in December 2020, Bella was a happy, energetic person. And when I met her in February 2021, she had completely changed.
"She became distant, quiet and she wouldn't make any eye contact with anyone, including me."
Siti Bainun, 31, is charged with two counts of neglecting and abusing the teenager to a point that the victim suffered injuries, physically and emotionally. The accused has pleaded not guilty.
The offences were allegedly committed at a condominium in Wangsa Maju here, between February and June 2021, under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 which carries a jail sentence of up to 20 years or a fine of RM50,000 or both.
The trial continues.