JOHOR BARU: A former babysitter was slapped with a RM40,000 fine at the Session Court here for two charges of acting negligently, which might have caused a physical injury to two babies at a childcare centre in Taman Mutiara Rini.

The accused, Nurul Shahira A’shiqin Sulaiman, 28, was also sentenced to a bond of good behaviour for two years with a surety of RM20,000 unsecured for each charge.

She is also ordered to conduct a 100 hours of community service within six months of the sentence being handed down.

The decision was handed down by Judge Datuk Che Wan Zaidi Che Wan Ibrahim on Tuesday (Aug 15) after the accused maintained her guilty plea from the previous court session in May.

Che Wan Zaidi, in his judgement, said that the accused had acted negligently towards two babies who are in a very vulnerable state and should have been given love and care, not using force that could cause injury to them.

“These sentences are given so that they could be a lesson to you and any other babysitter out there so that this case does not occur again in the future.

“You are hereby sentenced to RM20,000 for each charge, with five months imprisonment upon failure to pay,” he said.

The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurul Syafiqah Sha'ari, while the accused was represented by Syufri A. Samad.

Earlier, Syufri, in mitigation, said that the accused had repented of her actions and given full cooperation throughout the proceeding of the case.

“She had been remanded for seven days before, and this had given her time to reflect on her mistakes. Her actions that had gone viral on social media have also invited brutal remarks and negative comments from the public.

“She is currently unemployed and is being taken care of by her husband, who is a factory worker with a salary of RM2,000 a month,” he said.

On May 21, she was charged with two counts of negligence that might have caused physical injuries to an 11-month-old baby girl and a nine-month-old baby boy.

The offence was allegedly carried out on Jalan Utama 34 in Taman Mutiara Rini here at 1pm in March.

The accused was charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years or a fine of up to RM50,000 or both upon conviction.

The court granted her bail at RM8,000 for each charge with one surety.

On May 15, videos of her actions went viral on social media, where she was seen screaming, spitting, and hitting a crying infant.

In another clip, she was seen handling the infant roughly as the baby cried loudly.