A former factory worker pleaded guilty at the Magistrates’ Court here today to choking her colleague during an incident at a factory in Bayan Lepas last month.
Siti Fadzhlina Bazheer Ahamed, 42, entered the plea after the charge was read before Magistrate Chia Huey Ting.
Following her guilty plea, the court fined Siti Fadzhlina RM500, with 14 days’ imprisonment imposed if she fails to pay the fine.
According to the charge, Siti Fadzhlina intentionally caused injury to Anis Fari Syuhail Johari, 30, by choking her around the neck.
The offence allegedly took place at Abbott Medical Device Sdn Bhd, Hala Kampung Jawa, Bayan Lepas, at about 12.30pm on July 26.
She was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of one year, a fine of up to RM2,000, or both upon conviction.
Siti Fadzhlina, who is now unemployed, was represented by National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) lawyer Yiew De Xian, while Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Sofi Jaafar appeared for the prosecution.
In mitigation, Yiew appealed for a lighter sentence, citing that Siti Fadzhlina had lost her job following the incident.
The court heard that Siti Fadzhlina had choked the victim after becoming upset that Anis allegedly failed to perform her duties properly and was using her mobile phone while at work.
The incident reportedly disrupted and delayed work at the section where both women were employed.
Before imposing the sentence, Chia advised Siti Fadzhlina not to repeat such behaviour, warning that it could have resulted in more serious consequences.
The magistrate noted that the situation could have ended tragically and told her that she should have reported the colleague’s alleged misconduct to their supervisor instead of taking matters into her own hands.
