KUCHING: The suspect in the dead-baby case in Stutong was charged with murder yesterday.
CHARGED: Menti being escorted by a policewoman.
Menti Buda, 23, from Simunjan remained calm when the charge was read to her by an interpreter. No plea was taken from her.
Menti was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same code with murdering her baby.
She was accused of the crime with a man (said to be her boyfriend) who is still at large.
The Penal Code provides for the death sentence of or whole-life imprisonment.
The police are still tracing the whereabouts of the boyfriend (simply known as Bujang) as he is believed to be the accomplice in the case.
According to the investigating officer, they have been together for about a year.
She allegedly murdered the baby by throwing her into a monsoon drain at Stutong between 12.30am and 2.30am on March 3.
Menti was arrested a day after the finding of the baby’s corpse was highlighted by the media.
She was placed in police custody on Monday, March 8, and later further remanded until March 19.
As the remand expired yesterday morning she was charged before magistrate Portia Tham Ong Leng.
Menti worked at as a waitress at a coffee shop in Stutong.
Her boyfriend is said to be a construction worker staying near Stutong.
Portia reserved April 20 for further mention of the case pending receipt of a report from Hospital Sentosa and chemist’s report.
She was not represented whereas DPP Azizah Hassan appeared for the prosecution.