A fishmonger pleaded guilty at the Sessions Court to a charge of abusing and injuring his girlfriend’s eight-year-old daughter by beating her with a cane and pulling her hair after she refused to finish her meals last year.
The accused, Kenneth Ong Peng Quan, 43, entered the plea to a charge framed under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which carries punishment under the same provision upon conviction.
Judge Osman Affendi Mohd Shalleh imposed a fine of RM10,000, in default 10 months’ jail. The accused paid the fine.
The court also ordered the accused to be placed under a two-year good behaviour bond with RM1,000 security, and to complete 120 hours of community service within six months.
According to the charge, the offence was committed against an eight-year-old girl at a house in Kampung Merdeka between February and September 2025.
Facts of the case revealed that the child’s father lodged a police report after noticing multiple bruises and injuries on his daughter’s body when he picked her up from kindergarten.
Investigations found that the child’s parents had divorced in November 2024, and the victim was living with her mother and the accused, who was her mother’s boyfriend at the time.
The victim told investigators she was repeatedly caned, slapped, and had her hair pulled by the accused for failing to finish her food.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Sharifah Natasha Syed Ahmad, while the accused was represented by counsel Siti Farha Garieb.
