Appeals Court Increases Grandma’s Jail Term For Causing Death Of Disabled Grandchild

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- The Court of Appeal has increased the prison sentence of a grandmother from 10 years to 15 years for culpable homicide not amounting to murder of her disabled (OKU) five-year-old granddaughter.

A three-member bench led by Justice Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, who sat with Justices Datuk Azmi Ariffin and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, yesterday allowed the prosecution’s appeal to enhance Ipzuma Ambo’s prison sentence.

Ipzuma’s lawyer, Choong Kak Sen, confirmed the ruling, saying that the Court of Appeal had set aside the original sentence and replaced it with a 15-year prison term, effective from her date of arrest.

He also confirmed that Justice Mohamed Zaini ruled that the court was of the view that the sentence imposed by the High Court was insufficient based on the facts of the case and the trend in sentencing.

Ipzuma, 59, an Indonesian national, was initially charged with the murder of Qaseh Nur Qalesya Roza Iskandar. After 17 witnesses testified in the trial, the prosecution offered an alternative charge under Section 304 (a) of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

On Jan 9 this year, Ipzuma pleaded guilty to the alternative charge, and the High Court sentenced her to 10 years in prison, to be served from her date of arrest on Jan 1, 2021.

The offence took place at a house in Kg Sungai Chin, Gombak, Selangor, between 12.01 am on Dec 28, 2020 and 8.10 pm on Dec 30, 2020. 

The deceased is the daughter of Ipzuma’s adopted son. Ipzuma has been staying in Malaysia since 1992.

During the Court of Appeal proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Zain Ibrahim argued that the original sentence was too lenient given the severity of the offence, which involved the death of her grandchild.

Choong, however, defended the High Court’s decision to impose a 10-year prison sentence, saying it was not manifestly inadequate.

According to the facts of the case, the deceased’s elder sister testified that she heard her younger sibling crying while bathing. Upon investigating, she saw Ipzuma physically abusing the child by inserting a hose into the deceased’s anus and kicking her. The elder sister also reported seeing Ipzuma stomp on the child.

The deceased, along with her older sister and their mother, lived with Ipzuma following the parents' divorce. Ipzuma took care of them while their mother went to work.

-- BERNAMA