KANGAR: A restaurant assistant pleaded guilty in the Magistrate's Court here today to a charge of abandoning her two-day-old baby girl at a restaurant in Sanglang, near here on Jan 19.

The accused, Nor Zainab Jamaludin, 29, was charged with abandoning her newborn baby at the restaurant in Kampung Rama, Sanglang at 6.30 am, on Jan 19.

The charge was framed under Section 317 of the Penal Code and can be punished under the same section which provides for a maximum prison sentence of seven years or a fine or both if convicted.

The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutor Tengku Ruqayyah Tengku Shahrom while the accused was represented by National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) lawyer Siti Hajar Che Ahmad.

Tengku Ruqayyah then requested the court to set a new date for the submission of chemical and forensic reports.

Magistrate Ana Rozana Mohd Nor then set March 19 for the submission of the documents and allowed the accused a bail of RM6,000 in one surety.

-- BERNAMA