JOHOR BARU: A 37-year-old housewife has pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court here to allegedly causing physical injury to her stepson at their home last month.
The accused, Hadijah Mursidi, claimed trial after the charge was read to her in front of Judge Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail on Wednesday (April 3).
According to the charge sheet, the accused had maltreated her 17-year-old stepson until he suffered a physical injury.
The act was allegedly committed at 12.30pm on March 10 at a house in Jalan Suria, Bandar Seri Alam, in Johor Baru.
The offence is framed under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act (Amendment) 2006 for abandoning, neglecting, or exposing the said child to danger so as to cause him or her physical or emotional injury.
The charge carries a fine of up to RM50,000, a maximum jail term of 20 years, or both, upon conviction.
The case was prosecuted by deputy public prosecutor Umar Faiz Abdul Kohar and Othman Affan Ismail, while the accused was represented by Syufri A. Samad and Fahmi A. Jamil.
During the proceeding, Othman had requested bail to be set at RM15,000 along with two additional terms for the accused to report herself to the Seri Alam police station once every month and not to disturb any other witnesses of the case.
Fahmi, in mitigation, requested a lower bail as Hadijah does not have any source of income and depends entirely on the income of her husband, who is currently unemployed.
The accused is also taking care of her other three children, ages 5 to 12, and another stepson, aged 18.
The court then allowed bail at RM5,000 with one surety along with the additional terms. The court set April 22 for case mention.
The accused posted bail.
