JOHOR BARU, Feb 4 — The Sessions Court here today fined a factory van driver and his girlfriend a total of RM17,000 and ordered them to perform 440 hours of community service for neglecting and injuring a child under their care.
The accused, R. Thayalan, 39, and his girlfriend, K. Mageswari, 41, were jointly charged with negligence and confining a seven-year-old boy in a bathroom without providing him with adequate food or drink.
The victim, who is Thayalan’s biological son, was found malnourished and emaciated approximately two years ago.
Judge Thalha Bachok @ Embok Mok handed down the sentence after the pair pleaded guilty to an amended charge read out in court today.
According to the amended charge sheet, the two were accused of abandoning the victim without proper supervision or care, in violation of Section 33(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001. The offence carries a maximum penalty of a RM20,000 fine, a prison sentence of up to five years, or both.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Maisarah Hassan prosecuted the case, while P. Rajagunaseelan represented both accused.
In her submission, Nor Maisarah urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, stressing the severity of the crime.
She said the victim, then seven, had been locked in a bathroom and deprived of sufficient food and water.
“The victim was in a lifeless state when rescued and had to be rushed to Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA). Medical officers later confirmed that he was malnourished due to being abandoned and left without adequate food and drink,” she said.
Nor Maisarah described the incident as heartbreaking, particularly since the first accused, as the boy’s biological father, should have been responsible for his well-being.
She also read out a statement from the victim, who is now under the care of his biological mother in Selangor and remains traumatised.
“I previously lived with my father and his girlfriend, whom I called ‘sister.’ She forced me to drink toilet water and only fed me a piece of bread and a little rice.
“I am now afraid to go to school or anywhere because I worry that my sister will find me again,” the victim said in the statement.
The defence counsel requested a lower fine, highlighting the first accused’s financial struggles.
“The first accused works as a factory van driver with an income of between RM1,500 and RM1,800. He also works part-time as a car washer and earns an hourly allowance, while the second accused is unemployed,” the lawyer said.
Judge Thalha imposed an RM8,000 fine on the first accused and RM9,000 on the second.
Should they fail to pay, both will face six months’ imprisonment.
Additionally, Thayalan and Mageswari were ordered to perform 200 and 240 hours of community service respectively, to be completed within six months of the order.
