KUALA LUMPUR: A High Court judge rebuked a 29-year-old mother for attempting to shift blame for her toddler’s death to her partner’s mother, after a three-year-old fell from the 18th floor of a condominium in Taman Danau Kota in 2022.
Judge K. Muniandy dismissed Nurzalyeni Aryssha Razali’s appeal against a five-year jail sentence, stressing that she was solely responsible for the safety of her daughter, Khalisa Zara Abdul Rahim, and should have watched her like a hawk.
Nurzalyeni’s appeal was against a Sessions Court decision which found her guilty and convicted her on a charge for neglect under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001. She was sentenced to five years in jail and 36 hours community service.
The mother was only appealing against the jail sentence as she had already served 36-hours of community service as ordered by the Sessions Court.
Nurzalyeni, who was living with her partner, his mother, and several others, left her sleeping daughter alone in the unit while they went to a nearby shop to buy fever medication.
Muniandy said Nurzalyeni had a legal and moral duty to care for her child, regardless of the circumstances.
“The law pursuant to Child Act demands for the accused, as the mother, to take care of her own child, come rain or shine, as it is her responsibility.
“It is for a reason the Act was enacted, as prior to the enactment, incidences of this nature go unpunished, when in the past such incidences are not normal.
“If only the accused (Nurzalyeni) had ensured the sliding door to the balcony was closed and an adult, including her to be with the child at the material time, the child would not have fallen and died.
“The death of the child was a direct result from her neglect, as a mother,” said Muniandy in his written judgment dated Aug 6, which was uploaded on the judiciary website recently.
Nurzalyeni had claimed she made sure the balcony door was locked and accused her partner’s mother of failing to secure it. She also alleged the woman had a motive to fabricate evidence against her.
Muniandy, however, found no evidence to support this claim, emphasising that the partner’s mother was not legally responsible for the care of the child.
“Her (Nurzalyeni) neglect is inexcusable in law, as it is within her resources to provide care for her own child, but she had failed to do so, at the material time.
On the morning of the incident, Nurzalyeni followed her partner and his mother to a shop, without her daughter who was asleep, to buy fever medicine and claimed to have ensured that the sliding door to the balcony was locked.
While on the way, Nurzalyeni’s partner received a phone call from his friend who had informed him that the girl had fallen from the upper floor of the condominium.
When his mother entered the unit, she found the sliding door at the balcony opened.
In her defence, Nurzalyeni admitted to have left the victim alone sleeping in the room but allegedly ensured the balcony door was locked.
She had also alleged her partner’s mother was not speaking the truth, was not a credible witness and she had a motive to fabricate evidence against her.
Muniandy said that the ingredients of the charge had been proved by the prosecution against Nurzalyeni and that the Sessions Court judge’s (SCJ) conviction was sound and was correct to find her testimony to be inconsistent and lacking credibility.
“She had failed to provide a reasonable explanation as to how the victim could have access to the balcony, albeit her claim that the balcony door was locked.
“The accused did not provide any evidence to support her allegation that the partner’s mother had a motive to fabricate evidence against her,” he said.
Muniandy said even if it was true that Nurzalyeni wanted to get fever medication for her child, she could have gotten her partner or her partner’s mother to do so.
“But by leaving the child alone, hoping that all will be safe and sound without her constant care and supervision, is pure neglect on her part.
“The law expects her to take care of her child and watch her like a hawk at all times, without any single moment of neglect,” he said.
Muniandy, who was recently elevated to the Court of Appeal, said Nurzalyeni has to pay for her negligent misconduct which resulted in the loss of her child’s life.
The judge ordered her to serve the jail term from the date of conviction on July 15 but granted a stay of execution of the sentence for Nurzalyeni to have a final redress at the Appeals Court.
The mother, as the appellant, was represented by lawyer DC Sunderasan Krishna while the deputy public prosecutor Aqilah Ishak appeared for the prosecution.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
