SHAH ALAM: Police will leave it to the courts to decide if a Datin who pleaded guilty to abusing her Indonesian maid fails to turn up for her case on Thursday.
Selangor Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief senior assistant commissioner Fadzil Ahmat said police had already issued the court notice to her.
“We have handed her the court notice for her to attend the proceedings. It is now up to the courts to decide the next course of action if she still fails to turn up,” he said.
Fadzil said police handed the notice to Rozita Mohamad Ali, 44, at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters about 3pm on Friday after she was tracked down.
It was reported that Rozita failed to attend a High Court hearing on Wednesday. The High Court was supposed to hear the prosecution’s appeal to review the good behaviour bond imposed on her by the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court.
Following her no show, High Court Judge Datuk Seri Tun Majid Tun Hamzah gave the prosecution a weeks to locate Rozita and her bailor.
He also fixed Thursday (March 29) to hear the prosecution’s application.
Selangor head of prosecution Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad had then told the court that the prosecution’s attempt to serve a notice to Rozita and her surety, who is a Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) personnel, for them to appear in court, proved futile.
On March 15, Petaling Jaya Sessions judge Mohammed Mokhzani Mokhtar let Rozita off with a mere good behaviour bond of five years, even though the prosecution had pressed for a jail sentence considering the severity of the crime.
Rozita had admitted abusing Suyanti Sutrinso, 19, using a kitchen knife, a steel mop, a clothes hanger and an umbrella in 2016.
She caused multiple injuries to the victim’s head, hands, legs and internal organs between 7am and 12pm on Dec 21, 2016 at a house in Mutiara Damansara.
Rozita was initially charged under Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 20 years upon conviction.
However, the charge was later amended to causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, under Section 326 of the Penal Code.
The accused pleaded guilty to the lesser charge and Mokhzani sentenced her to be bound over for five years on a good behaviour bond of RM20,000.
Mokhzani’s decision subsequently sparked nationwide outrage, from members of the public to lawmakers and non-governmental organisations calling for a review of the sentence.