In 2019, when the news broke out that a 5-year-old boy died from cumulative scald injuries, the whole nation felt sorrow for the loss of an innocent soul.

The case caused quite a sensation, as grim details of the boy’s abuse and eventual death were shared.

Here’s a short summary for those who need a refresher: Azlin Arujunah and her husband Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman inflicted horrific injuries on their son, who was only five at the time, which ultimately resulted in his death. Their abuse includes dumping scalding hot water onto his skin and body, hitting and punching the boy, and confining him in a cat cage, among other forms of cruelty.

Breakdown of the Court Sessions up till New Sentence 

From the initial trial to the present one, a lot happened during the court session, so here’s what happened chronologically.

In November 2019, despite being initially put on trial for murder, the couple was later acquitted of all charges. Instead, they were handed less severe charges of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by heated means.

In 2020, their sentence was then only 27 years in jail each, with 24 strokes of the cane for Ridzuan and an extra 12 months in prison for Azlin in lieu of canning.

The prosecution, however, filed an appeal against the initial sentence. The Court of Appeal upheld the appeal

In July this year, Ridzuan was sentenced to life imprisonment.

And this month, Azlin’s earlier murder acquittal has been reversed with a new sentence of life imprisonment as well.

The case itself was an extremely terrible set of events, as the judges stated that the victim was only a small child whose parents were responsible for his tragic but entirely avoidable demise.

A Life for a Life?

The prosecution had sought the death sentence for Azlin. The sentence was, however, rejected by the court.

The court stated that as established in their jurisprudence, they will not be swayed by any gruesomeness regarding crime when deciding whether to impose the death penalty, even if cruelty or a demonstration of inhumane treatment is an important criterion.

As such, Azlin’s conduct was the main reason for working against the imposition of the death penalty, as she did not intend for her abusive actions to result in her son’s death.

The Court of Appeal also determined that Azlin meant to create burn wounds without realizing that they had a serious chance of killing her son.

In her testimony to the police, Azlin had stated that she believed the wounds would heal on their own, citing her own experience as a child who had also faced the receiving end of this punishment.

The court noted that she did make an effort to provide her son with some “self-help treatments,” even if these turned out to be insufficient.

For instance, she purchased cream from a provision store to treat the skin that was peeling off her son’s arms and chest. In addition, she rinsed him with tap water and applied baby powder to his chest and stomach after a scalding episode.

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No Caning for the Father 

Why is there no canning for such a despicable man?

Firstly, Ridzuan was only involved in two of the four scorching events that resulted in his son’s death. Additionally, he applied medicinal oil on the boy and even instructed his aunt to apply baby powder on him.

For that, his chargers would differ from that of his wife’s.

Secondly, the court cited the principle of parity. Under the principle, “where the roles and circumstances of the accused persons are the same, they should be given the same sentence unless there is a relevant difference in their responsibility for the offence or their personal circumstances”.

Lastly, the court added that Ridzuan was responsible for fostering a culture of violence within the family, as he was to be for the first violent act against the deceased and his wife.

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Featured Image: Facebook | Court Documents