A Judge Allowed This Datin To Escape Jail Time For Abusing Her Maid Because She "Repented"

According to a report in The Star Online, the act was allegedly committed in a house in Mutiara Damansara between 7am and 12 noon on 21 December 2016.

The 'Datin' was first charged with attempted murder of her maid, Suyanti Sutrinso, who at the time was 19 years old and had been working for Rozita for only two weeks.

During the five-hour ordeal at the hands of Rozita, the maid suffered serious injuries all over her body, including her head, hands, legs and internal organs.

However, the 'Datin' pleaded not guilty to the charge and on 31 December 2016, she was released after paying RM20,000 bail and told to surrender her passport.

She was later charged under Section 326 for voluntarily causing grievous hurt. A lesser charge, but it still provides for imprisonment of up to 20 years.

Rozita pleaded guilty to this lesser charge after the prosecution called 10 witnesses, including the victim, doctors who treated the maid and a Nepalese security guard who had found the maid slumped unconscious by a drain, according to the Malay Mail.

Multiple injuries to her eyes, both her legs, her hands and internal organs along with a broken scapula and in­juries to her right lung as well as a blood clot near her brain and a fracture to her cheek.

In her testimony, Suyanti had said that she climbed a ladder near the fence of her employer's house, jumped over, and ran as fast as she could to escape.

"I was slapped and punched every day while being called an animal. I feared for my life," she said, adding that she wasn't allowed to bathe and would get to eat only once a day.

"I was hoping that my employer would change her ways someday. However, I reached my breaking point," the Star Online had reported her as saying.

He claimed in front of the Sessions Court judge that Rozita, who tried to kill her maid, had "suffered from extreme pressure and stress" after she was charged in court.

"My client has repented," the lawyer, Datuk Rosal Azimin Ahmad, told the judge, according to The Star Online, as he applied for the 'good behaviour bond'.

The judge's decision meant that Rozita gets to walk out 'free', escaping jail time despite causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons to Suyanti.

According to judge Mokhzani, however, this sentencing does not mean that "the accused had been freed" because if she was found involved in criminal activities, she could be charged again in the same case and sentenced to imprisonment.

On the other hand, Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh, who is a lawyer, has argued that the good behaviour bond imposed on Rozita "is illegal and no longer applicable".

According to Ramkarpal, the sentence was not an option under the amended Criminal Procedure Code in 2016, reported the Malay Mail Online.

"With respect, I am of the view that the learned Sessions Court judge fell into error in imposing the said sentence as the law no longer provides for a good behavior bond in cases which involve serious offences which are defined in the Penal Code as an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term of ten years or more."

The DAP lawmaker has urged the attorney-general and the Indonesian embassy to file an application to revise the said sentence.

"I am of the view that the sentence imposed on Rozita is clearly illegal and ought to be revised by the High Court which must be done immediately in the interests of justice.

"It is common knowledge that a High Court judge has the power to revise such decisions from a lower court even in the absence of an application by any party as he may do so on his own," the Malay Mail Online quoted him as saying.