KUALA LUMPUR: A mother and her friend were sentenced to 35 years in jail after they were found guilty of murdering a 23-month old toddler five years ago.
High Court Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin meted out the sentence on 40-year-old Nor Aisyah Mohd Yunus, who is the mother of the toddler and her housemate, Noor Aisyah Ibrahim, 37, after ruling that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt at the end of the defence case.
He made the decision after examining the statements of 28 prosecution and defence witnesses called in to testify in the trial which began in Nov 2021.
"The court found that both accused had failed to explain how the victim sustained the injuries when they were both present in the house at the time of the incident.
"The court hereby sentences them to 35 years in jail from the date of their arrest," he said.
The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutors Norashikin Ibrahim, Mohd Isa Mohamed, Noor Dayana Mohamad and Goh Ai Rene.
Both accused were represented by Mohd Azrul Hasyimi Mohammad.
On Nov 15, 2019, the duo were charged in the Putrajaya Magistrate's Court with the murder of the toddler.
They were alleged to have caused the death of the toddler at a home in Prescint 5 between middle of September and Nov 4,2019.
The charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries the death penalty if convicted.
It was reported that the toddler was abused and injuries were found on his chin, eyebrow, his private parts and there were scars on both his hands and legs.
Post-mortem examination results revealed that the cause of death of the victim was due to injuries to the hip and liver due to the impact of a blunt and hard object.
There were 89 bruises, burns, new and old scratches all over the victim's body.