KUCHING: An Indonesian woman was sentenced to 11 months in prison by the Sessions Court here on Tuesday (March 26) for concealing the birth of her baby daughter by disposing of the body, which was found discarded in a garbage bin behind a restaurant.
Jamilah, 23, a former restaurant waitress from Entikong, Indonesia, pleaded guilty to an alternative charge under Section 318 of the Penal Code.
Judge Saiful Bahari Adzmi ordered the accused to serve the prison sentence effective from the date of arrest on Nov 22, 2023.
According to the alternative charge, she was accused of committing the offence at a garbage disposal site behind a restaurant in MJC, Batu Kawa, around 9.50pm on Nov 22, 2023.
If convicted, she could be sentenced to imprisonment for up to two years or a fine or both.
Based on the facts of the case, during the incident, the complainant, a police officer on duty at the Batu Kawa Police Station, received a call from a member of the public reporting the discovery of the body of a newborn baby girl in a garbage bin behind a restaurant.
The police then rushed to the scene and examined the body of the baby wrapped in black plastic, disposed of along with kitchen waste and garbage. The package bore the name of a man.
An Indonesian woman was arrested on the same day of the incident as she was believed to be the mother of the deceased baby.
The accused was then taken to the hospital for further examination, and the report confirmed that she showed signs of recent childbirth.
Further investigation revealed that the accused had recently given birth and suffocated her baby using a rubber band and a towel, causing her death, before disposing of her in the garbage bin.
Further investigation also revealed that the name of the man listed on the package containing the baby’s body was the name of the accused’s local boyfriend and coworker.
During the proceedings, defence counsel Ralph Lee, representing the accused, requested leniency for the accused due to her genetic mental health issues, as confirmed by the Dayak Customary Council of Entikong.
This follows after the accused’s family member—her grandmother—had a history of killing her newborn baby around 1977.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Fauzan Zamri handled the prosecution of the case.
