Baby-in-toilet: Housewife ordered to enter defence on murder charge

This is because a Federal Court five-member panel chaired by Federal Court judge Tan Sri Suriyadi Halim Omar unanimously allowed the prosecution's appeal Thursday, to order Nurul Syuhada Shamsudin, 24, to make her defence on the original charge of murdering her baby in 2009.

"Our finding is that something is not correct in the decision of the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The orders of the High Court and the Court of Appeal is set aside," he said.

Suriyadi also sent back the case to the High Court in Penang for Nurul Syuhada, who is six months pregnant to enter her defence before the same trial judge and subsequently, fixed Sept 18 for mention of the case at the High Court.

He also ordered Nurul Syuhada, now a housewife, to be remanded until Sept 18 when her lawyer E. Gnasegaran would make a formal application at the High Court for her to be freed on bail, pending disposal of her trial.

Nurul Syuhada, from Parit Buntar, Perak was acquitted and discharged by the Penang High Court on Jan 25, 2011 without her defence being called on the charge of murdering her baby between 3am and 7am on Dec 31, 2009 at a toilet of the Jabil Circuit factory in Bayan Lepas, Penang.

The prosecution subsequently, filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

On March 6, 2013, the Court of Appeal convicted and fined Nurul Syuhada RM3,000 after she pleaded guilty on a substituted charge of secretly disposing her baby. She paid the fine.

The prosecution appealed to the Federal Court. Under Section 302 of the Penal Code, Nurul Syuhada could face the death sentence if she was found guilty of murder.

The facts revealed that the body of the baby was found protruding from the hole of a toilet bowl when a cleaner was trying to clear a clogged toilet.

Earlier in the court proceeding, Gnasegaran applied for his client to be released on bail, saying she was married and six months' pregnant and required medical attention due to her pregnancy.