The New Straits Times
By Kalbana Perimbanayagam
"If a baby is simply dumped or abandoned, but safe, then the parent cannot be prosecuted for murder. In such cases, the parent may be booked under other sections of the Penal Code, depending on the circumstances."
The cabinet, concerned with the number of baby-dumping cases in the country, had recently asked the police to investigate such cases for murder or attempted murder.
This was in the hope that such a move would serve as a deterrent.
Prior to the cabinet's decision, cases of baby dumping which led to death were mostly investigated under sections 317 (abandonment), 318 (concealment of birth by secret disposal of body), 309 (infanticide) of the Penal Code or section 31 of the Child Act (abandonment).
Gani said baby-dumping cases which resulted in death also had to satisfy the ingredients and provisions stated under section 300 of the Penal Code, to be tried for murder.
The section states that a person can be prosecuted for murder under the following circumstances:
- If the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death;
- If it is done with the intention of causing such bodily injury as the offender knows to be likely to cause the death of the person to whom the harm is caused;
- If it is done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person, and the bodily injury intended to be inflicted is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death; or,
- If the person committing the act knows that it is so imminently dangerous that it must in all probability cause death, or such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, and commits such act without any excuse for incurring the risk of causing death, or such injury.
"The judiciary will also consider the likelihood and all possibilities, which could or could not result in the baby's death, in prosecuting the parent," said Gani.
Asked whether the A-G's Chambers had received any such proposal, Gani said he had yet to receive it.
However, he said the proposal required a detailed study to avoid confusion in delivering justice.
By Kalbana Perimbanayagam
KUALA LUMPUR: The Attorney-General's Chambers is prepared to prosecute anyone who abandons their baby, causing it to die, for murder.
However, a detailed study on the heavier penalty is required in drawing the line between murder and other possible charges.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail told the New Straits Times not all cases involving baby dumping could be classified as murder under section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries a death penalty.
However, a detailed study on the heavier penalty is required in drawing the line between murder and other possible charges.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail told the New Straits Times not all cases involving baby dumping could be classified as murder under section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries a death penalty.
"If a baby is simply dumped or abandoned, but safe, then the parent cannot be prosecuted for murder. In such cases, the parent may be booked under other sections of the Penal Code, depending on the circumstances."
The cabinet, concerned with the number of baby-dumping cases in the country, had recently asked the police to investigate such cases for murder or attempted murder.
This was in the hope that such a move would serve as a deterrent.
Prior to the cabinet's decision, cases of baby dumping which led to death were mostly investigated under sections 317 (abandonment), 318 (concealment of birth by secret disposal of body), 309 (infanticide) of the Penal Code or section 31 of the Child Act (abandonment).
Gani said baby-dumping cases which resulted in death also had to satisfy the ingredients and provisions stated under section 300 of the Penal Code, to be tried for murder.
The section states that a person can be prosecuted for murder under the following circumstances:
- If the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death;
- If it is done with the intention of causing such bodily injury as the offender knows to be likely to cause the death of the person to whom the harm is caused;
- If it is done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person, and the bodily injury intended to be inflicted is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death; or,
- If the person committing the act knows that it is so imminently dangerous that it must in all probability cause death, or such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, and commits such act without any excuse for incurring the risk of causing death, or such injury.
"The judiciary will also consider the likelihood and all possibilities, which could or could not result in the baby's death, in prosecuting the parent," said Gani.
Asked whether the A-G's Chambers had received any such proposal, Gani said he had yet to receive it.
However, he said the proposal required a detailed study to avoid confusion in delivering justice.
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