00:01The founder and manager of a childcare centre in Shah Alam pleaded not guilty in the magistrate's court on Wednesday
00:07to charges of operating without valid registration approval.
00:11Datin Noor Fadila, alias, aged 36, the centre's founder and its manager, Nurul Farhana Ramli, aged 33, entered their pleas
00:19before Magistrate Muhammad Shafiq Sulaiman.
00:21The case stems from a viral video that showed a young autistic child locked inside a storeroom and crying uncontrollably,
00:29prompting authorities to act.
00:31The Social Welfare Department, JKM, subsequently confirmed the centre was unregistered.
00:37Both accused face a joint charge of operating a childcare centre without valid registration approval from the Director General of
00:43JKM at a premises in Section 3, Shah Alam, at 3.54pm on 21st January last year.
00:50They are also each charged separately for operating another unregistered childcare centre in Kota Kamuning at 12.30pm on 19th
00:58January last year.
01:00Both charges are framed under Section 6 of the Child Care Centre Act 1984, read together with Section 34 of
01:07the Penal Code,
01:08which carries a maximum penalty of a 10,000 ringgit fine, up to two years imprisonment, or both.
01:14Nurul Farhana faces an additional and more serious charge.
01:17Criminal negligence for allegedly endangering the life of a child in her care.
01:21She is accused of leaving a child locked in a room at the Section 3 childcare centre at 4.32pm
01:27on 6th October 2025.
01:29The very incident that sparked public outrage after footage spread widely on social media.
01:34This charge is framed under Section 336 of the Penal Code,
01:38which carries a maximum sentence of three months imprisonment, or a fine of up to 500 ringgit.
01:44Deputy Public Prosecutor Muaz Kawarizmi Azfar proposed bail of 6,000 ringgit per charge for both accused.
01:51However, defence lawyer Anwar Ezad Zainal, representing both women, argued that the amount was excessive,
01:58and that bail is meant to ensure attendance in court, not to punish.
02:02Magistrate Muhammad Shafiq settled on 3,000 ringgit per charge, with one surety, for both accused.
02:08The case has been fixed for re-mention on May 25th.
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