GEORGE TOWN: An Indonesian woman was sentenced by the Sessions Court here today to two years' imprisonment for abusing a one-year-old boy under her care last year.
Judge Mazdi Abdul Hamid handed down the sentence on Ellis Andreyani, 47, after she pleaded guilty to committing the offence.
"The court accepts your guilty plea, and as such, you are convicted of the offence.
"The court therefore sentences you to two years jail from the date of your arrest on Dec 8, last year," he said.
Ellis, who is married to a local and has been in the country for seven years, admitted to abusing the toddler, causing him physical injuries, in a house at Taman Utama Persiaran Minden, Gelugor here between 10am and 3pm in November last year.
She was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, punishable under Section 31(1) of the same Act, which carries a maximum RM20,000 fine or maximum 20 years' imprisonment or both upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Rais Imran Hamid and Muhammad Shahrezal Mohd Shukri prosecuted while Ellis was unrepresented.
In mitigation, Ellis pleaded for a minimal fine sentence.
"I am sorry for my action and I will not repeat it again," she said.
Meanwhile, Rais Imran pressed for an appropriate sentence to reflect on the seriousness of the case as well as to serve as a lesson to others out there.
"This is a public interest case which involved a young child.
"As seen on the video recording, the accused, being an elder, should have cared for the toddler instead of subjecting the boy to abuse," he added.
A video footage of the abuse incident was played in court for all to see, in which Ellis admitted she was the woman in question.
She was calm and composed throughout the proceeding, replying "salah" (guilty) when asked for her plea earlier and "betul saya" (yes, it was me) when shown the video recording.
According to the facts of the case, the complainant (the accused's stepdaughter) had seen a video recorded by her own child (in this case the accused's step granddaughter) abusing several children under the accused's care by hitting them with her bare hands about 1.15pm on Dec 2, last year.
The complainant then lodged a police report and the accused was detained on Dec 8, last year.
Investigation carried by police showed the accused indeed abused the toddler as charged.
Last Tuesday, police denied claims that they had not taken any action with regards to an abuse incident involving several children in the home of their babysitter which went viral on social media.
Several video footages went viral on Twitter last Monday with regards to a babysitter, who was seen slapping a diaper-clad child's cheeks, including pulling the child's hands.
The owner of the Twitter account claimed that despite a report lodged, no action was forthcoming by the police as they claimed the babysitter suffered from mental illness.
A police report was lodged on Dec 7, last year by a local woman who alleged that four children had been abused.
Acting on the report, police detained the babysitter the following day and remanded her for six days.
She is currently awaiting deportation after serving a sentence under Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act for not processing valid travel documents.