KOTA KINABALU: A kindergarten teacher, who was seen abusing a child in a viral video, was sentenced to 12 months in jail and fined RM10,000, in default 12 months' jail, by the Sessions Court here today.
Melona Eva Ezwa Musah, 27, was also ordered to be placed on a good behaviour bond for two years.
The court set RM2,000 with one surety for the bond.
Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan made the order after Melona pleaded guilty to physically abusing a 4-year-old boy between 9am and 10am on Aug 8 this year, at a kindergarten in Kampung Seronok Nosoob, Penampang.
The offence under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, read together with Section 31(2) of the same act, provides for a fine of up to RM50,000, or a jail term of up to 20 years, or both, upon conviction.
Under the law, the court may order a convicted person to execute a bond of good behaviour for such period as it sees fit; and to perform community service.
In sentencing, the judge said that in criminal cases, the interests of the accused is overridden by the interests of the public and especially the victim who is only 4.
"(The accused) was in a position of trust by the victim's parents and yet she did what was supposed not to be done by anyone, let alone by a teacher.
"Trauma would not only be caused to the child, but also to the kids who were present during the incident. The video (a closed-circuit television camera recording) was an aggravating factor and moved this court to stress that the accused's actions should never be condoned at all costs.
"With regards to the video as tendered by the defence counsel in mitigation, I agree that the violent act of the parents should not be condoned as well, even though I understand that this is the reaction of the parents to their beloved son being treated as such.
"And, by viewing the videos as shown today by the learned defence counsel, I believe the accused has received the consequences of her action even though this court is not in agreement (with the parents' actions) and views this as another criminal offence," said Amir Shah.
He said the court had also considered that the accused has been remanded since her arrest and ordered that her custodial sentence begin from the date of arrest on Aug 9.
"Having regards to the totality of this case, I am of the view that the accused should be separated for a while from the public, especially children. There is no amount of fine that can heal the injuries and there is not even a single excuse why the accused did such a violent act against the defenceless victim.
"It is the hope of this court that this incident and the sentence that is to be imposed against the accused not only serve as a punishment, but also as a rehabilitative process for the accused. I hope the accused repents and register this in her mind not to commit the same offence in the future," he said.
The judge reminded Melona to learn to control her own anger.
"We worry that this youngster may become accustomed to violence as he grows up since he has witnessed it being the norm. I hope this punishment serves as a lesson," he added.
The facts of the case stated that the young boy had told his mother that he was beaten, slapped and had his hair pulled by the accused, causing him to suffer pain on the body, head and face.
When the mother questioned the teachers at the kindergarten as to how her son had gotten hurt, they claimed that it could have happened while he was playing with other children.
The mother had also asked the accused, but she had repeatedly denied hurting the boy.
Dissatisfied, the mother and her husband asked to check the CCTV footage, which led to the revelation.
Earlier, about eight minutes of soundless CCTV recording was played in court showing the accused repeatedly kicking, slapping and hitting the boy in front of other children using multiple objects, including a ruler and school bag.
The court was also shown a few CCTV recordings of the parents assaulting the accused, causing her to suffer injuries.
Throughout the proceeding, the accused who standing in the accused dock was seen calm. Her family was also present in the courtroom.
Lawyers Hairul Vaiyron Othman and Luke Ressa Balang represented the accused while deputy public prosecutor Dacia Jane Romanus prosecuted.