A FORMER college student, who was sentenced to death for causing the death of her newborn son in a dormitory toilet six years ago, cried when the Court of Appeal freed her today.

A three-judge bench, ;ed by Hadhariah Syed Ismail, made the ruling after being informed the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) accepted Nur Izzati Adi’s counsel’s request to lessen her charge from murder to causing a death.

Nur Izzati later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge, and the panel handed her a nine-year jail sentence to begin from the day of arrest, which was March 30, 2017. 

“The appellant was released immediately today and I instructed the prison warden to remove her handcuffs. She is free to walk out of the courtroom,” said Hadhariah, who presided with Azman Abdullah and Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.

On April 10, 2017, Nur Izzati was charged with murdering her newborn son in a hostel toilet on the third floor of Kolej Pertanian Malaysia Bukit Kayu Hitam at 5.20pm on March 30 the same year.

The charge was framed under section 302 of the penal code. 

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Mohammed Mokhzani Faris Mokhtar said the AGC reduced the charge to infanticide under section 309A of the penal code, punishable under section 309B of the same code, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine.

Lawyer Amirul Ridzuan Hanif, representing the accused, confirmed the matter and proposed a nine-year prison sentence starting from the date Nur Izzati was arrested.

Mokhzani did not object to the prison term.

After the proceedings, Nur Izzati, who had been previously held at Pokok Sena Prison, was seen hugging her family members.

On June 14, 2020, the Alor Setar High Court sentenced Nur Izzati to death after she was found guilty of killing her newborn. She submitted a representation to the AGC on April 11 this year for a lighter sentence. – Bernama, June 20, 2023.