THE Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today found that Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali’s testimony that Bella, a teenage girl with Down syndrome, was injured by hot water from a flask, was fabricated.

Judge Izralizam Sanusi said Siti Bainun testified that on May 6 to 9, 2021, she and her housemate, Noor Marliana Ramlee, the third defence witness, left a condominium unit in Wangsa Maju to work at Rumah Bonda in Setapak.

“The accused explained that on that date, she had left Bella, Yasmin (the fifth prosecution witness), Balqis, Aida and Tulus Jiwa in the condominium unit.

“Siti Bainun said while she was at work, she received a phone call from Yasmin telling her that there had been a scuffle between Bella and Balqis, resulting in water from a flask spilling on Bella in the condominium unit’s laundry room. However, the accused failed to produce any incoming call records showing Yasmin had contacted her,” he said. 

Izralizam said the accused’s testimony about the incident was hearsay because she was not at the scene and did not witness it. 

“Yasmin denied the incident, and Bella, despite being called to testify, never confirmed it. Balqis and Aida were to be called as defence witnesses, but they were never called to testify,” he said while reading the 12-page verdict.

The judge said the accused, as someone who was ordered by the magistrate’s court on September 24, 2020, to care for Bella, should notify and discuss any problems with the teenager’s protection officer, Mohamad Imran Mohamed Zanyuin (the 12th prosecution witness).

He said the accused did not immediately inform Imran of the incident, which was said to have occurred between May 6 and 9, 2021, but instead told him on June 24, 2021, through WhatsApp when Bella was taken to hospital. 

“However, the accused’s WhatsApp message to the 12th prosecution witness contradicts her testimony that Bella ran to the kitchen and fought over something with Balqis before the hot water spilled on her in the laundry room. 

“The accused’s failure to inform Mohamad Imran of the incident within a reasonable period after the incident occurred, and the subsequent sending of a contradictory message shows her testimony to the court was fabricated,” he said. 

Izralizam said the accused’s act of taking Bella to a doctor after nearly a month of the incident, which was said to cause serious hurt to the child, was unreasonable. 

He said this shows the hot water incident never actually happened. 

Izralizam said the accused did not present expert testimony that could refute the testimonies of several doctors (prosecution witnesses) who confirmed Bella’s injuries were not the result of a single incident, because she had older wounds and scars. 

Siti Bainun, 31, was sent to Kajang Prison to serve her 12-year sentence today after the court dismissed her bid for a stay of her jail sentence. 

Earlier, Izralizam sentenced Siti Bainun to 12 years in prison after finding her guilty of neglecting and abusing Bella. – Bernama, May 3, 2023.