Kota Kinabalu: A 45-year-old unemployed man, who assaulted his 82-year-old Octogenarian mother after she paused to drink water while giving him a back rub, was sent to prison for 24 months on Wednesday.
Azmi @ Andrew Ghani pleaded guilty before Magistrate Mariln Kelvin to voluntarily causing hurt to his mother, Ungut Loijin, on April 17, between 2pm and 3pm in a house at Kg Tunoh, in Penampang.
The Magistrate ordered Azmi to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest.
Azmi was charged under Section Section 323 which carries a jail term of up to one year or a fine of up to RM2,000 or both, on conviction, while Section 326A states that whoever causes hurt to his spouse or former spouse, a child, a disabled adult, or other family members and commits an offence under Section 323, 324, 325, 326, 334 or 335 shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of twice as long as the maximum term for which he would be liable to on conviction for that offence.
The facts of the case presented by the prosecution, stated that a doctor at the Emergency Unit of Queen Elizabeth I Hospital lodged a police report after receiving an elderly patient, Ungut Loijin, at 8.27am on 18 April, who had sustained facial and bodily bruises inflicted by her son, Azmi.
Police investigations revealed that the incident took place the previous day, between 2pm and 3pm, shortly after the victim had returned from a medical appointment at the Penampang Health Clinic.
Azmi had asked his mother to rub his back.
The victim complied but eventually stopped due to fatigue and pain in her arms.
When she paused to drink some water, a verbal altercation broke out between Azmi and the victim because she stopped tending to him.
Azmi struck the victim's face with his hand, causing her to fall to the floor.
Still dissatisfied, Azmi continued to kick and stomp on the victim’s abdomen and body, causing her to suffer pain throughout her entire body.
The following day, on April 18 at around 8am, the victim herself contacted the Queen Elizabeth I Hospital ambulance service in Kota Kinabalu to request assistance and was taken to the hospital for further examination and treatment.
Unrepresented, Azmi requested a lenient sentence.
Inspector Yusdi Basri, prosecuting, applied for a deterrent sentence, emphasising that the victim was Azmi’s biological mother, aged 82.
Yusdi also informed the court that Azmi has one previous conviction for a similar offence under Section 323/326A, for which he was sentenced to 24 months in prison in 2020.
In another case, a 37-year-old Filipina was fined RM25 or jailed five days for causing distress by acting in a threatening manner with the intention of disturbing a woman’s peace.
Reyes Michelle Santos pleaded guilty to committing the offence against one Felene Guntirik on April 15, at 7.30am at a kindergarten, Taman Perdana, Penampang.
The charge under Section 8(1)(e) of the Minor Offences Ordinance provides for a RM25 in fines.
The facts of the case presented by the prosecution stated that an unknown woman, threw a stone at the kindergarten where the complainant worked, causing the window on the upper floor at the back of the building to break.
Reyes was detained by police 40 minutes later.
