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PUTRAJAYA: A housewife who abused her Indonesian maid in 2016 was sent to jail after she failed to overturn her eight-year prison sentence.
A three-man bench of the Court of Appeal dismissed Rozita Mohamad Ali’s appeal here on Thursday (September 24) and she will begin serving her jail time at Kajang Women’s Prison today.
Judge Kamaludin Md Said, who presided over the court, said the High Court was right in its decision to sentence Rozita to a jail term on March 29, 2018.
In the unanimous decision, Judge Kamaludin said that Rozita’s appeal was without merit as the High Court had jurisdiction to review her sentence by a Sessions Court that set a bond for good behavior for five years with a bond of 20,000 ringgit.
“In the court’s opinion, the Superior Court has jurisdiction to review and modify the sentence (by the lower court) based on the appropriateness of the sentence.
“The judgment handed down by the Superior Court was the current trend of sentencing for such crimes at that time,” he said.
The judge added that in other cases related to crimes of willfully causing serious injury under article 326 of the Penal Code, the court has handed down higher sentences.
“For example, there are those who were imprisoned for up to 20 years,” said Judge Kamaludin.
At the same time, the appeals court also dismissed the prosecution’s appeal to increase Rozita’s eight-year prison sentence.
The other judges on the bench were Judges Hadhariah Syed Ismail and Nordin Hassan.
Deputy Prosecutor Ku Hayati Ku Haron appeared for the indictment, while attorney Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdullah represented Rozita.
In December 2016, Rozita was initially charged with the attempted murder of her 19-year-old Indonesian servant Suyanti Sutrinso.
However, on March 15, 2018, the charge was reduced to voluntarily causing serious harm under Section 326 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Rozita pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor and admitted to causing multiple injuries, including to her maid’s head, eyes, hands, feet, and internal organs at a home in Mutiara Damansara, here, between 7 a.m. and noon on December 21. of 2016.
She had used a kitchen knife, a coat hanger, a mop handle, and an umbrella to inflict the wounds.
Despite the seriousness of the crime, Petaling Jaya Session Court Judge Mohammed Mokhzani Mokhtar only sentenced her to bail of RM20,000 for good conduct for five years.
The “light” sentence sparked a national outcry.
The case was later called for review by the then Shah Alam High Court judge, Judge Tun Majid Tun Hamzah, who reversed the Sessions Court’s decision and imposed an eight-year prison sentence on Rozita after ruling that the Five-year bail was inappropriate.
The prosecution then filed an appeal to increase the sentence, while Rozita filed a cross appeal.
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