Sabah Mother Jailed for Forcing Children to Sell Fruits on Streets for 12 Hours a Day
A 47-year-old single mother has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined RM2,000 after being found guilty of forcing three children, including her own daughter, to sell fruits on the streets of Sabah for nearly 12 hours a day. The woman, Awala Antualang, who holds a Burung-Burung Card, will also be handed over to the Immigration Department upon completing her sentence.
Guilty Plea and Sentencing
Awala pleaded guilty to three separate charges in front of different Sessions Court judges on March 26. Judge Elsie Primus sentenced her for making an 11-year-old boy sell fruit in Sembulan, Judge Hurman Hussain handled the charge related to her 13-year-old daughter in Aeropod, and Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan sentenced her for forcing a 12-year-old boy to work in Harbour City. In addition to her prison term, she was fined RM2,000 and will have to serve an additional two months in jail if she fails to pay the fine.
She was charged under Section 32(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which criminalizes exploiting children for labor. The offense carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to RM20,000, or both.
Exploitation and Long Working Hours
The case reveals that the children were required to hand over all earnings to her. The children reportedly earned between RM180 and RM300 per day, yet their wages from Awala were inconsistent. They were forced to work long hours from morning until late at night, with only one day off per week.
Legal and Social Implications
This case sheds light on the issue of child labor and exploitation in Malaysia. Child labor laws exist to protect minors from being used as a source of income, especially in conditions that deprive them of education and a normal childhood. While poverty is often a driving factor behind such cases, forcing children into grueling labor is both unethical and illegal.
Information Source: World of Buzz
Kamran is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
