A Kemaman teen has appealed to the Court of Appeal to be released on bail pending disposal of her murder case involving her newborn baby boy.
Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, who acts for the 15-year-old, said earlier today they have filed the Notice of Appeal against the related March 8 decision of the Kuala Terengganu High Court.
On that date, High Court judge Hassan Abdul Ghani dismissed the girl’s application to revise the Kemaman Magistrate's Court's denial to grant her bail.
The judge only allowed part of the teen’s revision application, namely for her to be referred for psychiatric evaluation.
“We have filed a Notice of Motion in the Court of Appeal today, seeking an order from the Court of Appeal for bail pending trial, on behalf of our client, a child, who has been charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code at the Kemaman Magistrate’s Court,” Sangeet said in the media statement this afternoon.
Charged with murder
On Feb 15, the teen, who allegedly stabbed her newborn baby to death earlier that month, was charged with murder at the Kemaman Magistrate's Court in Terengganu.
She was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty if convicted.
According to a Malay Mail report, magistrate Tengku Eliana Kamaruzaman rejected the teenager’s plea to be released on bail.
Under Malaysian law, Section 302 is a non-bailable offence, meaning that bail is only granted at the discretion of the court.
However, according to the teen’s lawyer, Nurainie Haziqah, Section 388 of the Criminal Procedure Code allows for exceptions to be made if the person charged is either sick, a minor or a female.
“We had also submitted that this case is of great public interest and is widely reported by the media. The court could have set a (good) precedent,” she was quoted as saying.
The teen’s lawyers then filed the revision application against the lower court’s decision to refuse her bail.
Prior to her appearance before the magistrate’s court, the teenager was remanded for seven days in February to facilitate a police investigation.
The authorities are also looking for the girl’s 20-year-old boyfriend, believed to have raped her.
It was reported that the newborn was found dead on Feb 8 at the girl’s house in Felcra Sri Bandi in Chukai, Kemaman.
The baby was believed to have been stabbed with a sharp object. - Mkini
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