By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Jul 17: A 21-year-old Indonesian woman was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the Sessions Court today after admitting to taking abortion medication during the 27th week of her pregnancy, resulting in the death of her premature baby five days after birth.
Judge Musli Abdul Hamid handed down the sentence after the accused pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 315 of the Penal Code, which criminalises acts carried out with the intention of preventing a child from being born alive or causing the child to die after birth.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
The court heard that the woman consumed medication without a doctor’s prescription at about 6am on June 24 in a bedroom at a cafe in Batu Kawa.
Investigators later established that the medication was taken to terminate the pregnancy and was not prescribed for any medical emergency or to safeguard the mother’s life.
The woman sought treatment at a hospital later that day after suffering abdominal pain while 27 weeks pregnant.
During medical examination, she informed the attending doctor that she had taken pills believed to induce an abortion, prompting the medical officer to lodge a report for further investigation.
The premature delivery that followed resulted in the birth of a baby boy, who died five days later. A post-mortem determined that the infant’s death was caused by bleeding in the lungs and brain.
Investigations also revealed that the woman had allegedly acted after becoming emotionally distressed when her boyfriend was imprisoned for entering Malaysia without a valid permit.
In a separate Sessions Court before Judge Mursyida Abdul Halim, the woman was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to overstaying in Sarawak following the expiry of her social visit pass.
She was charged under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, punishable under Section 15(4) of the same Act. The court further ordered that she be handed over to the Malaysian Immigration Department upon completing her prison terms.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Asmawi Nur Haqim Mokhtar prosecuted both cases, while the accused was not represented by counsel. — DayakDaily
