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A VAN driver was charged in the Batu Pahat Sessions Court with child abandonment for allegedly leaving a five-year-old boy locked in a van for hours, resulting in his death.
The accused, Yau Chee Weng, 57, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read in Mandarin before Judge Mohamad Khalid Abd Karim.
He was brought to court about 9am after his remand ended today and charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Children Act 2001.
The offence carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both upon conviction.
According to the charge, Yau, a retiree, was entrusted with the care of the victim but allegedly abandoned the boy in the vehicle at Taman Bukit Indah, Johor Baru, between 8am and 12.05pm on 30 April.
Deputy public prosecutor Sharifah Natasha Syed Ahmad proposed bail at RM15,000 with additional conditions, but the court set bail at RM7,000 with one surety.
Yau was also ordered to surrender his passport and is barred from contacting prosecution witnesses pending the conclusion of the case.
The boy was reportedly found unconscious in the school van after being believed to have been left in the vehicle for almost five hours in Taman Bukit Indah.
Police said the victim was found unconscious in the van at around noon.
Police explained that the victim, who attends kindergarten in Taman Bukit Indah, was said to have boarded the van from his family’s residence before arriving in front of the kindergarten at around 7.30 am.
Following this, the police arrested the school van driver in the Taman Bukit Indah area at 2.40 pm the same day.
The court fixed 16 June for document submission and case mention – May 7, 2025
