Magistrate Siti Zubaidah Mahat meted out the sentence after the accused, M Malini, pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 323 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt.

Section 323 carries a maximum penalty of a year’s imprisonment, a fine of up to RM2,000, or both upon conviction.

The 25-year-old teacher was accused of hurting the boy at a nursery in Pandamaran, here, at about 9.36am on May 13.

During mitigation, the accused, who was unrepresented, asked for a minimum fine as she comes from a low-income family and only earns RM1,700 from her job at the nursery.

When asked by the magistrate to comment on her offence, she apologised and claimed that she did not slap the boy on purpose.

Deputy public prosecutor Yong Chin Hong argued that the accused as a teacher should have treated her student with love and care.

“In this case, the victim is four years old. The incident caused swelling and trauma to the victim. Therefore, a heavy sentence must be imposed on the accused as a lesson,” he said.

The accused’s family then appointed a lawyer, A Biranta, at the eleventh hour to request a stay of the sentence.

The court allowed the stay of execution pending the appeal of the sentence to the High Court.

The accused was granted bail of RM5,000 with one surety.