KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here has fixed October 12 to hear Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali’s appeal against her conviction and 12-year jail sentence for neglecting and abusing a teenage girl with Down’s Syndrome known as Bella.
Deputy public prosecutor Zilfinaz Abbas said the hearing date was set by senior assistant registrar Nur Azizah Jaafar at today’s case management proceedings.
“However, the appeal petition has not yet been received, and the court has set September 14 for next case management,” said Zilfinaz when contacted.
Lawyer Fatin Syaza Irdina Muhamad Eddin Syazri representing Siti Bainun, when contacted, confirmed the hearing date.
On May 23, the high court here dismissed an application by Siti Bainun to stay her 12-year jail sentence pending her appeal to the high court.
High court judge Datuk Ahmad Bache dismissed the application by Siti Bainun, 31, on the grounds that there were no special or exceptional circumstances to allow the stay.
On May 3, sessions court judge Izralizam Sanusi sentenced Siti Bainun to 12 years in jail, to be served on the same day, following which the woman was sent to Kajang Prison.
Izralizam sentenced Siti Bainun to 12 years in prison after finding her guilty of two counts of neglecting and abusing the 13-year-old girl at a condominium unit in Wangsa Maju between February and June 2021.
The court also ordered her to sign a five-year good-behaviour bond with a local as a guarantor and a surety of RM5,000.
Siti Bainun was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service to be completed within six months after serving her time. – Bernama, July 12, 2023
