2 women get 12 months’ jail for adoption fraud

 

The victim was told by one of the women that a poor family was willing to give up their baby for adoption with an advance payment of RM4,000. (Reuters pic)

SEREMBAN: Two women were sentenced to 12 months’ jail by the magistrates’ court here, after they pleaded guilty to cheating a man who was trying to adopt a child in July.

Magistrate Nurul Saqinah Rosli handed down the sentence on G Gayatree, 32, a caretaker, and food delivery rider Aliyah Begum Selvam, 30, and ordered them to serve their sentence from today.

The duo was jointly charged with deceiving a 37-year-old man into believing that they could help him with the adoption by depositing RM7,900 in seven transactions into a bank account.

The offence framed under Section 420 of the Penal Code provides imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than 10 years with whipping, and a fine, upon conviction.

They were charged with commiting the offence at a house in Jalan Arah, Sendayan here on July 15.

Based on the facts of the case, the victim was told by Gayatree that a poor family was willing to give up their baby for adoption with an advance payment of RM4,000 and was later requested to make several transactions totalling RM7,900.

Deputy public prosecutor Nik Nur ‘Aqilah Syarfa Nik Zaidi prosecuted while counsel J Dasene of the National Legal Aid Foundation represented the accused. - FMT