Court to visit condo where Bella was allegedly abused

 

Siti Bainun Ahd Razali, founder of Rumah Bonda, is on trial accused of negligence and child abuse.

KUALA LUMPUR: The judge presiding over the Rumah Bonda case is to visit a condominium in Wangsa Maju, where Bella, a 13-year-old girl with Down Syndrome was alleged to have been abused.

The founder of the Rumah Bonda home, Siti Bainun Ahd Razali, has been charged with neglecting and abusing Bella.

Judge Izralizam Sanusi and lawyers involved in the case will visit the scene on Wednesday.

‘The court is of the opinion that after reviewing the exhibit of the photos of the incident location, the court needs to get a clearer picture or view of the (laundry) room to better understand the incident described in the witness testimony,” he said after allowing a defence application.

“I have reviewed the photos (and I) could not get a clear impression, especially at the window, because I don’t know which window can be opened. Like what the counsel said, it is appropriate for me to go to the incident location and see for myself,” he said.

Izralizam said only the prosecution, the defence counsel, witnesses, court staff, specifically the interpreter and the accused, Siti Bainun, would be allowed to go to the incident location.

“The visit will take place at 10.30am and the trial will commence after the visit,” he said.

The locations to be visited by the court include the laundry room in the condominium, which was cited in the testimony of the fifth prosecution witness, Yasmin Nahar Mahmood, 18, a fellow Rumah Bonda resident.

Yasmin said in her testimony on April 8, that she was instructed by Siti Bainun to bite Bella’s belly as Bella did not want to follow the accused’s orders to stand in the laundry area of a condominium in Wangsa Maju.

During last week’s proceedings, defence counsel Nur A’minahtul Mardiah Md Nor requested a site visit to the scene to allow the court to see the house itself and the size of the laundry room, as many incidents involving the accused allegedly occurred there.

Deputy public prosecutor Zilfinaz Abbas had objected to the request on the grounds that the case was already in the trial phase and not in the investigation stage.

Siti Bainun, 30, is currently on trial after pleading not guilty to charges of neglect and abuse under the Child Act. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ jail or RM50,000 fine or both. - FMT