The Intermediate Court yesterday ordered an Indonesian domestic helper to settle a $3,000 fine or risk serving three months' jail in default of payment, for abandoning her new-born baby. She pleaded guilty to the charge last week.

Twenty one-year-old Marsina was working as a domestic helper in a household at Jalan Tanjung Selasih, RPN Kampong Pandan Mengkubau, Mentiri. She was already pregnant about four months when she flew into Brunei sometime in June 2016.

DPP Shamshuddin Kamaluddin's facts of the case revealed that the defendant had only realised her pregnancy sometime in October and eventually felt contraction pain on the evening of November 9, 2016.

At first Marsina thought that she was about to defecate, but then realising she was about to give birth she ran to the toilet on the ground floor of the house and gave birth to a baby boy. She also breastfed the baby to keep him from crying.

As soon as the baby fell asleep, the defendant cleaned up the toilet of any signs of her giving birth. She then placed her baby in a bucket, and left him at the back of a neighbouring house near the kitchen door which was three doors down her employer's house at Jalan Tanjung Selasih, RPN Kampong Panchor Mengkubau, Mentiri.

The defendant hoped that the house owner would find her baby and take care of it but little did she know that the house was empty. The defendant returned to her employer and resumed work the following morning as usual.

To the baby's luck, the empty house owner who had not yet moved in came by around to check that morning and discovered the baby. The house owner immediately alerted the police and neighbours who then turned up to help and sonic took pictures of the baby which went viral on social media.

An ambulance arrived and took the baby to Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital. The Women and Children Abuse Investigation Unit under the Criminal Investigation Department then launched investigations leading it; to the identification of the defendant as the baby's mot her.

Judge Pengiran Masni binti Pengiran Bahar presided over the case.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

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