Che' Puan Besar Khaleeda Bustamam expressed her appreciation to activists, the lawyers appointed by Tunku Mahkota of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the prosecution team and other individuals who had been concerned over the fate of the teenage girl with Down syndrome, known as Bella.

Through her Instagram, Che' Puan Besar said both Tunku Ismail and her were very concerned over the issue of child abuse and they believe that the case should be taken as a lesson by all parties with the hope that cases like this will not recur.

"I was informed that the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today found the accused Siti Bainun Ahd Razali guilty of neglecting and abusing Bella, causing her to suffer serious physical and emotional injuries," she said in her Instagram post today.

Last November, Tunku Ismail immediately took the initiative to order four lawyers namely Datuk Khairul Anwar Rahmat, Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu, Datuk Ikbal Salam and Mohd Radzi Yatiman to participate in the trial and provide all necessary assistance to ensure justice for the victim will be upheld.

Earlier, Judge Izralizam Sanusi sentenced Siti Bainun to 10 years in prison for the offence of neglecting the girl and 12 years for the second charge of abusing her. However as the sentences were to run concurrently she will only serve 12 years in jail from today.

The court also ordered Siti Bainun to sign a five-year good behavior bond with a local guarantor together with a surety of RM5,000.

She was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service to be completed within six months after serving her time in jail.

According to the charges, Siti Bainun was alleged to have neglected and abused a 13-year-old Down syndrome girl causing the victim to suffer physical and emotional injuries in a condominium unit in Wangsa Maju between February and June 2021.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency