KUALA LUMPUR - A nursery operator cried while pleading for a lighter sentence at the Sessions Court for slapping a two-year old girl until the latter's eyes were swollen.
Azlinawaty Julaihi, 41, was fined RM7,000 after pleaded guilty to the charge before judge Emelia Kaswati Mohamed Khalid. The court then ordered the accused to serve another five months in jail, if she fails to pay the fine.
During the proceedings, Emilia said the court has to hand down a sentence that will serve as a lesson to the accused as well as other babysitters.
According to the charge sheet, Azlinawaty as the babysitter had abused the victim until the latter's eyes were swollen and her right cheek was bruised.
The offence was committed at a nursery about 12.30pm on June 15, at a nursery in Sentul, here.
The accused was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 which carries a fine not more than RM50,000 or a maximum imprisonment of 20 years or both, if convicted.
According to the facts of the case, the complainant who was the victim's mother had found that her daughter's eyes, cheek and upper lip were injured.
The complainant then asked the accused what had happened and at first Azlinawaty said the victim was playing before admitting that she had slapped the girl.
Investigation by police found that the accused had slapped the toddler several times because the victim spat food out after being fed.
In pleading for leniency, Azlinawaty who was unrepresented said she did not mean to hurt the victim and regretted what she did.
However, deputy public prosecutor Noorhani Muhmmed Ayub urged for a deterrent sentence considering that the victim was only two years old.
"Parents send their children to the nursery so that they could go out and make a living by trusting the babysitter," she said.