Single mum, friend plead guilty to abusing, neglecting son, sentencing on Oct 10

JOHOR BARU: The Sessions Court here has set Oct 10 for the sentencing of a single mother and her housemate after both accused changed their plea for abusing and neglecting a seven-year-old boy.

The accused, Nurul Asyiqin Mohamad Zahir, 27, who is the boy’s biological mother, and Singaporean Awiin Chua, 30, changed their pleas to guilty after the charges against them were read again in front of Judge VM Mabel Sheela here on Wednesday (Sept 27).

For the first charge, the two were accused of achieving the common intention of persecuting a seven-year-old boy under their care, causing the victim to face physical injury.

Whereas, for the second charge, both Nurul Asyiqin and Chua were accused of reaching a common intention to neglect the child under their care.

They were accused of having committed the offences at a house along Jalan Wau Kikik 7 at Bandar Layangkasa in Pasir Gudang here between July 1 and Aug 9.

Both Nurul Asyiqin and Chua were charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Children Act 2001, which was read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code that carried a fine of up to RM50,000 or a maximum 20 years imprisonment or both upon conviction.

As soon as the guilty plea was recorded, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Diyana Zubir requested another date for the preparation of the facts of the case before sentencing.

During the proceedings, the prosecution also submitted documents to the court including medical reports, police reports and photographs of the scene of the incident as well as photographs of the victim’s injuries.

Judge Mabel Sheela then set Oct 10 for the facts of the case as well as sentencing for both of the accused.

She also ordered the bail amount of RM15,000 for Nurul Asyiqin and RM20,000 for Chua to be maintained.

Lawyer Abd Rahim Ali represented the two accused.

On Aug 16, both Nurul Asyiqin and Chua were charged and claimed trial at the Sessions Court for allegedly abusing the small boy.

The case gained public attention when videos of neighbours rescuing the victim from the accused went viral on social media.