Court orders maid in baby-tossing case to mental hospital

The High Court here Tuesday ordered the Indonesian maid, who applied for a stay of execution of her 20-year jail term for abusing her employer's four-month-old baby boy last February, to be sent to Permai Hospital in Tampoi, Johor for three-month mental observation.

Justice Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya also ordered the applicant, Yuliana, to be examined by a psychiatrist after taking into account the medical report from a hospital in Medan, Indonesia where she also received mental treatment eight years ago.

"The court also found that one of the applicant's family members is also suffering from mental illness.

"In a bid to ensure justice and to enable report about the applicant's status of sanity to be prepared, the court hereby orders the applicant to be sent to a (mental) hospital in Tampoi, Johor or the equivalent, to undergo mental observation according to Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code," she said.

The court also set May 20 to hear the hospital's report on the status of Yuliana's mental health before making any decision on her application for the stay.

Yuliana was sentenced to 20 years jail by the Kuantan Sessions Court last Feb 19 after she pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder and tossing the boy into the air several times.

She was sentenced to 15 years' jail on the first count and five years on the second count.

The application for the stay was made by her lawyer, T.Vijayandran, who said that his client was not sent for mental observation while in police custody until the time she was charged in the court and then sentenced.