IPOH: "Why did you do that to my child?" cried the biological mother of a young girl who died after allegedly being abused by her adoptive mother last week.
Siti Nurhidayatul Akmar Mohd Zamry, 28, who could not contain her emotions, was seen asking the accused as she was led out of the courtroom at the end of the prosecution proceedings at the magistrate's court here today,
Earlier, the accused, Wan Fatimah Zahra Wan Abdullah, 28, nodded when the murder charge was presented against her before magistrate S. Punitha.
However, no plea was recorded as the murder case fell under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
Wan Fatimah Zahra was accused of causing the death of Iman Adelia Yusullah, 5, at a house on Jalan Kledang Raya 23, Taman Malcop in Silibin, here, between June 5 and June 10.
She is charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty or imprisonment between 30 to 40 years, and a minimum of 12 strokes of the rotan upon conviction.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Vatchira Wong Rui Fern, while the accused was not represented.
No bail was offered and the court set Aug 28 to submit the chemical report.
Outside of the courtroom, there was an air of sombreness as relatives of the victim, including the grandmother, Zanuriyah Mohd Madzlan, 65, were seen grieving.
Siti Nurhidayatul Akmar, when met after proceedings, claimed that she and the accused were good friends since school.
She said the victim was her third of four children, and she had put her daughter under the care of Wan Fatimah Zahra since April because her good friend had been married for a long time, but was still childless.
"I regret letting her (the accused) take care of my child. Two to three days before she died (on the day of the incident), she (the accused) mentioned that she wanted to return her to me, but in the end, I got my child back lifeless," she said.
Previously, it was reported that police had detained a couple on June 10 to assist in investigations into the killing of their 5-year-old adopted child, who died allegedly due to abuse.