2007 05: Attempted suicide girl freed on probation

NST online. Local News. 18/05/07

JOHOR BARU: The High Court gave a 16-year-old girl, initially charged jointly with her father with murdering her three step-siblings, a new lease on life by releasing her on probation yesterday.

Judge Datuk Jeffrey Tan sentenced the girl to three years’ probation and to be placed in the care of her maternal uncle in Klang, Selangor, under the Child Act after she pleaded guilty to an amended charge of attempted suicide.

Deputy public prosecutor Shahrizal Shaari had earlier successfully applied to the court to amend the charge against the girl.

The girl was originally charged with her security guard father with murdering the three children aged 6, 5 and 3, at their home in Kulai between 10.30am and 3.30pm on Nov 20, 2004.

The girl who had spent nine months at the Kajang women’s prison after being arrested on Nov 20, 2004, and before her release on RM5,000 bail on Aug 1, 2005, appeared sad throughout the sentencing. In passing sentence, Tan told her: "Considering the fact that you were in remand while you were not even 14 years of age, you would have undergone a terrible experience.

"However, in general, the law says there is criminal liability after the age of 10 years as at that age one should naturally know what is right or wrong, at least about simple things in life.

"The court, therefore, is committed to sentence you to a three-year probation and to reside at your uncle’s house.

"Tan told the girl’s uncle to look after her with care as she needed emotional support.

The facts of the case stated that the girl was in a room at a house at Taman Muhibbah in Kulai with her father and three step-siblings at the time of the incident.

The girl had attempted suicide using a dhoti tied to the ceiling which she had tied around her neck while standing on a chair. She was rescued by a neighbour.

Shahrizal said he could not adduce further facts as it might be prejudicial to the girl’s father whose trial was still ongoing. In mitigation, the girl’s counsel, S. Gunapati, pleaded for a lenient sentence as his client was a young child living in an unhappy home situation and was depressed at the time of the incident.

"Her mother had died when she was seven and her father remarried. She had been living under the care of her stepmother and her four children.

"The family had just moved to Johor Baru a month before the incident and the stepmother was not at home due to some reason at the time of the incident."

Counsel K.S. Segaran and Bernard George are handling the father’s case which was postponed to June 19.