A WOMAN pleaded guilty at the Melaka Sessions Court, Ayer Keroh, today to a charge of giving up the care of her three-month-old baby girl for RM2,000 due to hardships, last month.
Judge Rohatul Akmar Abdullah, however, deferred the sentence against the accused, Yan Chin Ding, 22, which was to be decided on October 14 while waiting for the facts of the case to be submitted by the prosecution.
According to the charge, the accused was found to given up the care of her three-month 12-day-old biological child to a couple aged 51 and 35 for valuable consideration, namely cash amounting to RM2,000.
The act was committed in front of a laundry in Banda Kaba in the Melaka Tengah district, here, at about 8pm on September 17.
If convicted, the accused can be imprisoned for up to 20 years and fined up to RM50,000 or both according to Section 48 of the Child Act 2001 and can be punished under Section 48(1) of the same act.
It is understood that the accused is from Klang, Selangor and has two other children aged three and two years old respectively who are being looked after by their grandparents.
The accused then moved to Melaka while pregnant to look for work.
During that period, the accused was said to have experienced financial problems to the point of fighting with her husband before deciding to secretly sell the baby to a couple living in Perak.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor, Nor Asnini Kamarudin proposed bail of RM30,000 for the accused.
The accused, who was not represented, however, appealed for a lower bail on the grounds that she needed to look after her young children, while her husband only worked as a storekeeper.
In addition, her baby has now been placed under the care of the state Social Welfare Department (JKM) until October 9.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court allowed the accused to be bailed at RM8,000 with one surety.
The accused was also given an additional condition to report to the nearest police station every month until the case is resolved. – October 1, 2025
