High Court Judge Zainal Azman Abd Aziz meted out the sentence on Anuar Yusof, 55 and his wife, Murni Ahmad, 40, for the death of Siti Hajar, 22.

In his judgment, Zainal said the victim’s physical condition clearly showed that she had been left without sufficient food for too long, her health was neglected and she was abused till she only weighed around 18kg.

He said the facts (about neglect and abuse) had been given by the surgeons during their testimony and were not denied by both the accused.

“It was impossible that their actions were committed during a span of a few days, instead the victim probably suffered for months. Both the accused would surely have known of the pain endured by the victim but did not take any action nor provide adequate treatment until she died,” he said.

Two other children, Siti Sarah Anuar, 26, and her 19-year-old brother (who was 14 years old at the time) had also faced the same charge but the court acquitted and discharged them after they were found not guilty as they were bound to their parents’ actions, being under the couple’s care.

The four accused were jointly charged with the murder of Siti Hajar at Jalan Air Putih, Taman Semarak, Binjai in Chukai at 10.45pm on April 26, 2016.

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Zulfazliah Mahmud, while the accused were represented by lawyer Masliela Ismail.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution called 24 witnesses to the stand while the defence called seven witnesses, including the four accused.