[UPDATED] Bella case: court orders Siti Bainun to enter defence on child abuse, neglect

KUALA LUMPUR – The sessions court here has ordered Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali to enter her defence on charges of neglecting and abusing a 13-year-old girl with Down syndrome, known as Bella.

Judge Izralizam Sanusi ruled that the prosecution successfully established a prima facie case against the 30-year-old woman, reported Bernama.

The prosecution closed its case on October 28 after calling 22 witnesses in the trial, which began on March 30 this year.

Among the prosecution witnesses called to testify were Bella, a former resident of Rumah Bonda named Yasmin Nahar Mahmood, psychiatrist Dr Wan Asyikin Wan Azlan, an assistant manager of a company named Zurianty Sudin, and plastic surgeon Dr Salmi Mohamed Shukur.

The prosecution is represented by deputy public prosecutors Nor Azizah Mohamad, Zilfinaz Abbas, Zahida Zakaria, Fazeedah Faik, and Shakira Aliana Alias, while lawyers Nur’Aminahtul Mardiah Md Nor, Mohammad Farhan Maaruf, Nurul Hafidzah Hassan, and Nur Ellena Mohamed Razif represented Siti Bainun.

Siti Bainun pleaded not guilty to two charges of abuse and neglect, which resulted in physical and emotional distress to a teenage girl between February and June 2021 at a condominium in Wangsa Maju here.  

She was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years or a fine of RM50,000, or both, if convicted. – The Vibes, November 24, 2022