KAJANG, June 6 — A caregiver at a daycare centre pleaded guilty in the Sessions Court today to endangering a 17-month-old girl last month, potentially causing her physical injury.
Nor A'in Ismail, 24, who is eight months pregnant, was charged with intentionally exposing the child to conditions that could lead to physical harm at a daycare centre in Bandar Mahkota Cheras at 4.15pm on May 28.
She was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which carries a maximum penalty of RM50,000 or imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Faelly Jeffrey Lanjungan proposed bail at RM20,000 with one surety and requested the court to schedule another date for the prosecution to submit a full medical report.
However, the accused's lawyer Wan Guan Hui, appealed for a lower sum, citing the absence of a criminal record and that she did not pose a flight risk.
Judge Mazuliana Abdul Rashid granted bail at RM8,000 with one surety, requiring A'in to report monthly to the nearest police station and refrain from contacting the victim's family.
Case re-mention was scheduled for July 2 to review the victim's full medical report before sentencing.
Meanwhile, at the Magistrate’s Court, the centre's owner Chan Pei Kuan, 34, was fined RM3,500 after she pleaded guilty to operating the unlicensed childcare centre in violation of the Child Care Centre Act 1984.
Chan was charged under Section 6(1) of the Child Care Centre Act 1984, which carries a maximum penalty of a RM10,000 fine or up to two years in prison, or both, upon conviction.
Magistrate Nik Siti Norazlini Nik Mohamed Faiz ordered Chan, who was also represented by Wan, to serve one month in jail if the fine was not settled. DPP Norfarhanim Abdul Halim appeared for the prosecution.
Previously, the media reported that the police were investigating allegations that a 17-month-old girl was abused by a caregiver at a childcare centre in Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Kajang.
Kajang District police chief Asst Commissioner Mohd Zaid Hassan said the baby's father lodged a report claiming his daughter was physically abused when she was being fed.
— Bernama
