Woman jailed six months for concealing and dumping newborn’s body

KOTA KINABALU: A woman was jailed six months and fined RM2,000 after pleading guilty to intentionally discarding a newborn baby at a homestay here in 2023.

Armaya Matjani, 22, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Dzul Elmy Yunus to the charge under Section 318 of the Penal Code for concealing the birth and secretly disposing of the baby’s body.

The court ordered her to serve another two months in jail if she failed to pay the fine.

Section 318 provides for a maximum prison sentence of two years or a fine or both if convicted.

Based on the charge sheet submitted to the court, the unmarried woman from Kampung Rampayan Manggatal was accused of dumping the baby’s body at a homestay room on Jalan Kepayan between Nov 1 and 2, 2023.

A worker discovered the body of the baby boy with the umbilical cord still attached in the room’s toilet.

Police investigations found that Armaya had booked the room online and checked into the homestay alone on Nov 1, before leaving the next day in a weak condition.

A post mortem of the newborn’s body by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Forensic Unit confirmed that the baby died shortly after birth.