PETALING JAYA: A former e-hailing driver was sentenced to eight years and six months’ imprisonment by the Johor Bahru High Court today after pleading guilty to abusing a three-year-old boy in 2022, including forcing him to eat his own faeces.
Utusan Malaysia reported that Chan Wen Jie, 32, pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of child abuse under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 before Judicial Commissioner Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor.
The father of two was ordered to serve his prison sentence from the date of his arrest on Oct 3, 2022 and complete 36 hours of community service within six months. He was also placed on a three-year good behaviour bond.
In his judgment, Fareed condemned Chan’s actions which were captured on CCTV camera, and rejected the defence’s argument that Chan had merely been disciplining the boy.
"The accused not only caned the victim but also slapped him, hit him on the head and forced him to do squats, stand for long periods and eat his faeces from his disposable diaper.
"Forcing the child to eat faeces was a cruel and degrading act that could in no way be considered a form of discipline. If the accused was unable to care for the victim, he should have handed the child back to his father," he said.
Chan was charged in the Johor Bahru magistrates’ court in 2022 with murdering Lee See Jie, 3, at a house on Jalan Ria 2 in Taman Skudai Ria, Skudai, between 8pm and 8.30pm on Oct 2.
The charge, which was later withdrawn, was brought under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the death penalty or 30 to 40 years’ imprisonment and at least 12 strokes of the rotan.
The Star reported Fareed as saying the High Court did not consider the original murder charge or the cause of the victim’s death when determining the sentence for the alternative charge.
The court ruled that the jail term was appropriate for the offence after weighing aggravating and mitigating factors.
The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutors Edelynn Wong and Nur Diyana Zubir, while Chan was represented by K Sarawanakumar and Freda Sabapathy.