Pelajar gugur kandungan dipenjara sebulan, denda RM5,000

A 19-year-old student was sentenced to one month in jail and fined RM5,000 by the Kota Kinabalu High Court for self-inducing her own abortion. The High Court judge Marilyn Kelvin delivered the verdict after the defendant admitted guilt to the offense under Section 312 of the Penal Code, as reported by The Borneo Post. The court also ordered the defendant to serve an additional eight months in prison if they failed to pay the fine.

The act took place at a rented house in Kota Kinabalu on May 15th. According to the case facts, the pregnant woman, 15 weeks along, received emergency care at a hospital after experiencing internal bleeding. Prior to that, she had taken 11 tablets of Misoprostol (Cytotec) 200mcg orally and inserted three more into her vagina. The investigation found that the woman had taken the medication to induce her abortion because she was not ready to become a mother.

Both she and her boyfriend agreed to the termination. The defendant's lawyer Jagnesh Jaya represented her, while the prosecution was handled by Assistant Chief Public Prosecutor Ronnie Anthony.