The father of four siblings found abandoned in front of a guardhouse last week admitted his guilt at the Sessions Court in Ipoh. Kamarul Kamil Abd Rifin, 33, was accused of neglecting his children, aged 10 months to 11 years, in front of the Perak Tengah District Administrative Complex in Kampung Gajah at 10.44am on Nov 23. The charge under Section 33 (a) of the Child Act 2001 carries a maximum penalty of five years’ jail or a maximum fine of RM20,000, or both.
Convicted individuals may also be sentenced to community service at the court’s discretion. Judge Azizah Ahmad scheduled sentencing for Feb 6 next year to allow the accused to appoint a lawyer. Deputy public prosecutor Evangelin Simon Silvaraj did not offer any bail.
On Monday (Nov 27), police arrested two people suspected to be the parents of the four siblings, after a staff member of the Kampung Gajah Social Welfare Department filed a report about the incident. The siblings were three boys aged 11 years, three years and 10 months and a six-year-old girl. Perak Tengah district police chief Supt Hafezul Helmi Hamzah said the siblings were believed to had been abandoned by an unknown woman, who was driving a Toyota car. – Bernama
