TEENAGE COUPLE SENTENCED FOR BABY DUMPING

First couple to be sentenced under new law

MALACCA: A teenage factory worker was sentenced Tuesday for two years' jail while his girlfriend was ordered to be sent to the Henry Gurney School for baby-dumping.

Magistrate Fairuz Mohd Johari ordered the 17-year-old girl to be placed at the school until she turned 20 under Section 91 (1) (f) of the Child Act 2001.

Mohd Zolhalmi Khamis, 18, and the girl, both from Felda Jelai, Gemas, Negri Sembilan pleaded guilty for leaving the baby in a dumpster at Diabochi factory at the Ayer Keroh Industrial Estate at 5.10am on Aug 11 last year.

The duo, both workers at the factory, became the first couple to be charged under Section 317 of the Penal Code for intentionally abandoning a child below the age of 12.

According to facts of case, the girl gave birth to a baby girl in a toilet at the factory before placing her into a cloth bag for Mohd Zolhalmi to place her in a dumpster.

Mohd Fairuz, who ordered the sentences on the couple to start from Tuesday, said being young was not an excuse for them to make the mistake and the sentences were imposed as a lesson for them and the society.

In mitigation, Mohd Zolhalmi, who asked for a lighter sentence, said he had repented and promised to marry the girl after serving his time.

The girl, who cried, asked the court not to jail her as she was breastfeeding the baby.

Deputy public prosecutor Farah Wahida Md Nor prosecuted. - Bernama

references 

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/9/28/nation/20100928155509&sec=nation