Lorry driver gets 18 years' jail for causing death of 10-month-old nephew

"You were swayed by your evil feeling to the extent of beating a 10-month-old baby to death...what you did was unacceptable."

These are the words of Shah Alam High Court Judge Datuk Abdul Halim Aman when passing down an 18-year jail sentence on a lorry driver who had caused the death of his nephew three years ago.

Abdul Halim said the court viewed the offence committed by Arman Tarlin, 34, seriously, as his action had caused the lost of an innocent live.

"I don't understand how something like that could happen?...what kind of lessons did you expect the 10-month-old child to learn from you? For a six-year-old (child), maybe we can say it (beating) is to instill good values, but this victim was not even a year old.

"What happened on that day was beyond our knowledge and only you (the accused) knew. You should have used your sanity...babies will only cry if they are hungry or sick, but in whatever situation, never let go of your anger on them," he said.

Abdul Halim also ordered Arman to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest on Dec 7, 2013.

The accused pleaded guilty to causing the death of Muhammad Amsyar Hadiff Abdullah at a house at No 101, Lot 4363, Jalan Bakam, Batu 9, Kebun Baharu, Telok Panglima Garang, Kuala Langat, between 5 pm and 8.30 pm on Dec 5, 2013 and was charged under Section 304 (a) of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of 30 years.

Arman was initially charged with murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code which provides death penalty if convicted, but the prosecution offered an alternative charge under the Section 304(a).

According to the facts of the case, which was read by deputy public prosecutor Rosidah Abu Bakar, the victim had been handed over to the care of the accused and his wife on Dec 2, 2013, as the victim's grandmother, who is also the accused's mother-in-law had to attend a course.

According to the accused's wife, during the incident, she went out to a shop and left the victim and her 11-month-old youngest son with the accused and when returned home she found that the kapok filling from a pillow had scattered in the living room of her house.

When asked, the accused replied that their children had played with the pillow, but the wife saw the victim leaning against the wall in a weak condition.

At 6.30 pm the same day, the wife found the victim getting weaker by the hours and took the baby to a clinic where he was pronounced dead at 8 pm.

An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was intra abdominal bleeding secondary to blunt impact.

The accused in his conversation with the police admitted to have hit the victim's stomach with the pillow twice.

The accused was represented by lawyer Muhammad Fadhli Sutris and Muhammad Hidhir Mustapa.